You Will Learn From Each Other
by Suzerenma
Summary: Our favorite multicultural leading ladies have been accepted to study abroad in London for university where they enroll into an International Student Group. Here they share stories and experiences relating to multiculturalism, identity, and heritage. They date, they grieve, they party and most importantly, they learn true acceptance of one another and grow through friendship.
1. (1) Week One, Monday: Intro and Tiana

_Author's Note: Hi readers! Glad to see you stopping by! This is my first fanfiction so I'm still learning what the protocol's are. Please feel free to leave any review you like and I hope to see you again =]_

**Chapter 1 - Week One: Monday**

Mary Poppins has always been calm and collected. Everything has always been in her control and exactly how she wanted it; today was no different. She took it upon herself six months earlier to reserve the University Welcome Center for this particular event: orientation date for her brand new discussion group of girls – international students to be specific.

Mary planned everything: from the various flag decorations around the walls to the buffet of multicultural food specifically prepared by herself , specifically for this day. She was pleased, but certainly she was always pleased with herself. After all, she was not short of an inflated ego, deserved or not.

She scanned the room and breathed a happy sigh before looking to the young women standing next to her, not quite as secure as herself and not bothering to hide it.

"Thank you Jane for your help today. It will be wonderful to have an assistant for this project. Not to mention, the girls will appreciate a younger voice to relate to."

Jane shuffled and looked down at her shoes. "How are you sure they will relate to me Ms. Poppins?"

Mary let out a small laugh. "For the last time Jane, you are my colleague now, not my student. There is no need for formalities so call me Mary. To answer your question though, all young people can find relation in other young people. Everything is so new and curious, no doubt a bit nerve-racking as well." Mary smiled at Jane "I have no doubt in my mind that you will be a good support to these girls, and you will learn something from them too. That is the purpose of this group after all: to learn something from one another. Have you organized the room situations yet?"

If there was one thing Jane was sure of, it was her organizing abilities. " Yes Mi—Mary. I organized the rooms by country of origin so the girls will room together with other girls from similar parts of the world."

"Brilliant, Jane! I knew I was right in trusting your help – then again, I'm always right."

Jane relaxed with these words of confidence, even if they weren't necessarily directed toward her. Now all they had to do was wait for the trickle of students to come into the Welcome Center and the year could begin.

Tiana was the first student to enter the Welcome Center at 15 minutes past the specified meeting time. Even though she tried to be on time she was almost always inevitably late given her busy work schedule. Only two days in London and she already found two jobs. Even she wondered why she was so diligent on working so hard: she received a full-ride scholarship to come to the University with some extra cash for spending money; there really was no need for two jobs, not even one.

"Habit." Tiana muttered under her breath. "Now if I'm late...where is everybody?"

"They are late too, but do not worry – you are in the right place." Came a voice behind Tiana causing her to jump and abruptly turn around to face a tall, pale and undoubtedly beautiful woman with excellent posture. Tiana instantly felt a strange combination of comfort and intimidation as she tried to mimic the woman's' ruler-straight back. The woman smiled at the effort.

"You must be Tiana! I am Mary Poppins" she said as she gestured to the other corner of the room where another young woman was seated in the circle of 14 chairs provided for the day. "And that is my assistant Jane – she is a student as well."

Tiana was a bit overwhelmed at this conversation. She never expected to be early enough to be given a personal introduction, and seeing the nervous student in the circle – Jane – made her wonder if she made the right decision to join a student group at all.

"This is...well, nice. It's nice to meet both of you. Hey, and how did you know who I was?"

Mary smiled. "I know a New Orleans accent when I hear one. Plus you hold yourself like an American and we only have one other American in our group so perhaps it was also a lucky guess." She pulled out a card with a long string of yarn through two punched holes at the top and handed it to Tiana.

Tiana stared at the card for a minute with its comic sans written "Hi! I'm Tiana!" and large American flag painted at the bottom. She couldn't help but laugh at the campiness, and finally decided to scan the room to peer at the flags scattered around the room. Indeed it was very campy.

She thanked Mary as she sat down in a chair across from Jane. Tiana thought about making conversation but decided to wait until the other students arrived to take the pressure off of saying the right things and instead wandered into her thoughts. _Do I really look like an American?_ She wondered as she glanced at at her clothes: _Jeans, a T-shirt and boots can't be THAT uncommon in England..._She glanced back up at Jane who was wearing a sweater, a skirt and flats. OK_, maybe it's a bit different._

Tiana's thoughts were interrupted by footsteps and Mary's booming voice exclaiming "WELcome to Disney University's International Students Orientation for Girls!" Jane and Tiana both looked up to see a very diverse crowd of girls huddled around the doorway. Jane ran over right as Mary gestured in her direction "My name is Mary Poppins, and this is my assistant Jane. In a few short minutes we will begin orientation once we are sure everyone is here, but in the meantime, feel free to eat something. I am sure you will find some comforting delights as well as some less familiar cuisines to try."

Jane decided this was a good time to pipe in "After all, we want to learn from each other in order to connect and adapt to life here in England." Mary grinned at her assistant, knowing that Jane had been rehearsing that line for a week prior.

Tiana remained seated throughout the confusion of passing out name tags and the girls' looks of confusion at their names above the flag that supposedly represented them. The shy girls decided to grab food at the buffet table while the more outgoing girls struck up small talk with one another, meanwhile Mary introduced herself to everyone individually and Jane checked names off of a roster.

A tall young woman with long hair and piercing brown eyes walked up to Tiana. "I gather you're an American too. Where are you from?" Tiana thought the woman sounded a bit robotic but responded anyway. "I'm from New Orleans, how 'bout yourself...Pota...cotnas?" she stuttered reading the girl's name tag. This brought a smile to the other woman's' face, softening her features as she sat down next to Tiana. "Pocahontas actually. My name tag is spelled wrong, common mistake. I'm from Jamestown, Virginia. New Orleans, really? You've come a long way"

"Speak for yourself! We've both crossed oceans!"

The girls laughed, feeling an instant connection, even if that connection was only based on a common home – a place they were both feeling a little homesick for.

"So, why did such a big group come in all at once?" Tiana asked.

"Didn't you know? There was a campus tour for all the international students and we registered for classes. Registration went longer than planned so we all ended up walking over here together. I doubt you were the only one who missed it though as we were supposed to be twelve in our group and only nine showed up. Since you were here, that would mean two other girls missed out."

"I knew I was forgetting something...Just didn't know what. I spent all morning looking for jobs instead. I got two, but now I'm paying for it by not registering for classes!" Tiana slunk her head into her lap. Pocahontas wondered if it was just an American tendency to be so flexible...She glanced at the other girl's name tag. "Tiana right? That's a nice name. I'm sure it will work out. The last I checked there were still ample classes available. Worse case, you take some classes you don't want now and focus on your jobs...Wait, did I just hear you say that you got _two_ jobs?"

Tiana nodded.

Pocahontas gaped. "Why would you do that to yourself? Two jobs _and_ college classes. I assume you want to be a full time student?"

Tiana nodded again.

"Well in that case maybe it's a good thing in disguise. Maybe your heart was telling you that working was more important to you than having a full load of classes."

Tiana hadn't thought of it that way, but was pleased by the sound of it. "I am more used to working. I've always worked since I was a pre-teen. Been working two jobs since I was sixteen. I don't really know another life other than working."

Pocahontas put a reassuring hand on Tiana's shoulder, who took the gesture with kindness. "It's just your first year. It's best to stick with what you're comfortable with and branch out later. You need to have some time to yourself to process all these changes."

With that, both girls heard Mary's voice again, this time announcing the whole group to gather in the circle of chairs. As each young woman silently took a seat, they scanned the group to familiarize themselves with all the nervous faces of whom they would be sharing this bi-weekly experience with. Nervous faces met nervous faces, and the room was silent save for the pattering of shoes down the hall.

Mary looked toward the door, calm and collected as ever to greet the last two girls – both lean, one with long, wavy brown hair and the other with even longer, straight blond hair. The only thing they had in common was the fact that they were wearing purple. Everything else was very different. The brunette had a scowl on her face and was out of breath, the other was the definition of a sunshine girl, with a bright grin on her face to match her golden hair; strangely enough, she wasn't out of breath. Mary handed the girls the last two name tags as Jane checked off the last two names, then all four of them walked toward the chairs to join the circle.

Mary began her introduction. "By now, most of you know who I am. For those who just arrived, my name is Mary Poppins and this is my assistant Jane who will be a sort of... peer adviser to you all."

Jane smiled nervously and waved as the group turned to her in unison.

Mary continued "Starting today and this Thursday, you will all meet here at 9:00 in the morning. Treat this like a class, though there will not be any letter grades involved. Though you might not see it straight away, all of you have a lot in common:"

The young ladies shifted their eyes around.

"You are all young women from exciting parts of the world who have chosen England as your country of study. All of you are fluent in your home language as well as English, and you all have a dream of bettering the world in some form of another. Lastly, and most obviously, you have all chosen to be part of this group as your first-year seminar. Here we will have a multitude of discussion topics as well as enriching field excursions to cultural points in London. You will learn from each other: from your similarities and from your differences. At the end of this year, you will all have grown tremendously from the person you are now."

She paused to make sure her audience was still following. "It will be challenging, especially if you have not encountered other cultures before, but I know you all are capable of learning and growing."

With that, she clapped once to end her speech. "Now, I would like each of you talk about yourselves a bit. Tell us your name, age, country of origin, intended field of study and an interesting fact about yourself. Let's go alphabetically by first name starting with...Anastasia!" Mary scanned the room to find a young woman with reddish-brown hair and big blue eyes, raising her hand. Mary moved her hands to tell Anastasia to stand up.

She cleared her throat to speak "My name is Anastasia, I'm 18 and from Russia. I don't yet know what I want to study, but during my childhood I experienced a trauma to my head leading to amnesia. The ability to just forget, well, everything has always fascinated me, so I think I want to study psychology or at least something to do with the brain." She looked around the room briefly "So, I guess that's me."

Mary nodded and called out the next name. "Would Ariel kindly go next?"

A chipper, young girl with bright red hair stood up at the sound of her name. "Yes, I am Ariel, I'm 17. My country of origin is complicated...You see, I was born at sea and I have never lived on land until now, not even seen the shore before. My passport is from Denmark though. Because I'm from the sea, I would like to study more about it, so I applied to the oceanography program. And an interesting thing about me? Well...I don't eat fish?" She was shy, but easily likeable, perhaps even a bit naive, but the other girls summed that up to her being so young and new to terrestrial land.

One by one, each of the girls continued.

"My name is Belle, I'm 19, from France. I'm from a small village a little ways outside of Paris and I learned English through reading English books – that's my favorite hobby, reading. I've always wanted to go on adventures, but I never left my village until now. Right now I am planning on studying English literature, and possibly even English history."

"I'm Esmeralda, 20, also from France, but from Paris. I took a year off between secondary school and university in order to earn money to pay the tuition. Granted, I didn't earn enough but financial aid has been very helpful. I grew up with very little money, so I feel very lucky to be here. I plan on studying social work and social justice."

"My name is Jasmine, I am 19 years old and I am from Jordan. Like Esmeralda, I also felt trapped by my childhood but in a different way. My family is well off as we are related to the royal family. In many ways this has been a curse, for they were always so over-protective. I am surprised they even let me come here! I want to study clinical psychology so that I can work with youth who also feel stuck."

"I am Kidagakash, but please call me Kida. My homeland is similar to Ariel's, and very complicated. I grew up on an island near Iceland, a very secluded island. We have a rich history and a rich culture, but I felt the need to learn more about the world, so I came here to study anthropology and world history." Right as Kida was about to sit down, Mary stopped her. "And your age Kida?"

"Oh yes, I am 20 years old."

Next was the brunette who came in late. She had abandoned her scowl but still had an edge to her voice. "My name is Megara, but I prefer to be called Meg. I don't have a sob story or a rough childhood. I was just a kid. I'm now 19 years old escaping a bad relationship that I had back in Greece. I figure, why not go to England?" As she spoke, her face softened. "I guess like any other girl my age, I'm miserable and I want to better my life. I'm not sure what I want to study yet, but maybe psychology, or literature, or history...never math though. I'm awful with numbers."

"Well, most people call me Mulan because it's easier but my name is actually pronounced _Mok-lan_ as I'm from southern China where we speak Cantonese, not Mandarin. My parents didn't want to send me to England either. They want me to stay in our village and get married – that's just what all 19 year olds do. Like you Jasmine, my parents are very over-protective and image is a big deal in our culture. They actually didn't let me go, I confided in my grandmother who told my parents that I'm staying with relatives in the North. I'm thinking of studying women and gender studies to see if there is some way to get out of this mess."

The sunshine girl with the long hair stood up next. "Hi everyone! I'm Rapunzel. I know it's a hard name to pronounce and all, but it will get easier, I promise! I'm from Germany. I've never left home before, isn't that crazy? I was home-schooled, but as you can see I got a little stir crazy so I came out here to England to study well...everything! I don't yet know what I want to study to be honest. Everything is fascinating. I'm 17 by the way."

Pocahontas stood up to introduce herself after Rapunzel fell into her chair. "Hi, my name is Pocahontas. I'm from America and yes, I am native American. My family has lived in Virgina for many generations. I live on a reservation near Jamestown where my family lived before the Europeans arrived. I love the outdoors, and I love people. I spent a year traveling around the U.S. Before coming here which made me realize that I wish to work with the environment: with nature and with people. So I'm majoring in environmental science and social justice. Oh yes, and I'm 20 years old."

Tiana gleamed at her new friend before standing up to speak herself. "Well I guess I'm the last one to speak. My name is Tiana, I'm also an American but from New Orleans, Louisiana. I'm 19 years old and came to England to study business and the culinary arts. I dream of one day opening up my own restaurant. Until then, I need to save up money! So I'll be working while I'm taking classes."

After Tiana sat back down, Mary looked at all her students and asked Jane to introduce herself as well.

"Hello! As you all know by now, I'm Jane. I am assistant to Mi—Mary for this year to help run the international student club. My father is an explorer and I've been with him a few times on some of his expeditions and I've always felt a stronger connection to people in other countries than I have to people in England. So that's why I decided to work with Mary this year. I am 21 years old, just a year ahead of you all and I am studying anthropology and fine art."

With that, Mary stood up and handed out a sheet of paper to everyone. "You all did very well and I am excited to get to know you as the year progresses! What I am handing out to you know is your roommate assignments. Jane was kind enough to organize the room assignments by country of origin so that you would at least have some common ground to work with. Jane will also be rooming with one of you this year. Now, I am confident that you all have registered for classes? Yes?"

Tiana, Meg and Rapunzel all shrunk in their seats to avoid the gaze of Mary, who just continued on. "Yes, so I will see you all on Thursday then? 9:00 in the morning?"

The group nodded.

"Wonderful! It was lovely to meet you all!"

Everyone began to shuffle out of the Welcome Center, save for the three who did not register for classes.

"I presume that the reason you three stayed behind was to tell me that you have not actually registered for classes, am I correct?" They nodded.

"Very well then, come with me."

While Meg, Rapunzel and Tiana followed Mary, they glanced at the sheet of paper with the room assignments:

**International House**

Room 1 – Anastasia and Rapunzel

Room 2 – Ariel and Jane

Room 3 – Belle and Esmeralda

Room 4 – Jasmine and Mulan

Room 5 – Kidagakash and Megara

Room 6 – Potacontas and Tiana

Tiana grinned widely at the misspelling of her new friend's name and followed Mary down the hall to the registrar, feeling optimistic that this would be a good year after all.

_Author's Note: Hi there, me again. I see you made it this far, sorry for the length! Like I said, still getting used to writing a fanfic. But I hope you enjoyed it! I know it was a bit choppy toward the end, and I will work to smooth things out for the next chapter. Thanks for reading!_


	2. (2) Week One, Thursday: Jasmine

**Chapter 2 - Week One: Thursday – Linguistics**

Jane knew that Mary Poppins would be removing herself from the group once introductions had been established, but the younger woman still wondered how she could lead a group on her own for the whole year. Once Mary announced this trickery, Jane pleaded her to stay and keep in charge but Mary was firm and still kept to her word.

"Oh Jane, you knew I was only a mere sponsor, not some nanny guiding the young from the fire didn't you? All you have to do is keep them from gallivanting like a pack of kangaroos – or is it a herd? – anyway, there's no doubts that they are a shy bunch, now stop giving me that look, we are not codfish!" And faster than she could say _Supercalifragilisticexpialid ocious_ she was gone.

"I always hated that word…" Jane muttered to herself. Though after realizing what she had just said out loud, looked about to make sure Mary was no longer in earshot. Something about that woman still intimidated her. With a sigh, she continued to set up for the day's discussion, this time on her own with no idea how she was going to make this work

* * *

"Today, we are going to discuss language!"

Before Jane made this announcement, the girls had trickled in slowly usually along with their roommates, except for Meg who liked to do things on her own. Hardly any of them spoke to each other. Even roommates were silent unsure of how to behave in this group where social etiquette was not well discussed. However, they were all in agreement about one thing: as far as they were concerned, language was nothing more than a simple form of communication, certainly not worth talking about.

Disappointed, Jane still continued as this was her only plan for the day. "Now, I know most of you – if not all of you - think of language as simple and not really anything to think about, let alone talk about. I mean, you all know at least two languages, right? Maybe with the exception of Pocahontas and Tiana as you two are Americans…" She glanced nervously in the direction of the two New Worlders "And Americans don't always have the same education standards as the rest of the world…"

"Actually, I speak French Creole and a little bit of Spanish." Tiana piped up.

"And I speak my native language fluently." Came Pocahontas.

Jane was really starting up a sweat. This wasn't going well and her plan for the day was already going downhill. Her discussion members were obviously disinterested and not bothering to hide it. Meg had even decided to doze off! Jane was seriously considering running out of the room to hide her shame when all of a sudden, Belle spoke to Tiana.

"_Comment allez-vous?_**_"_**** How are you?**

"_Très bien, merci! Mon français est mauvais."_ **Very well, thank you!** **My French is bad**. Though Tiana still had an American accent, Belle and Esmeralda were both very impressed.

"_Ne t'inquiètes pas!" _**Don't worry! **"Your French is better than you think" Esmeralda gave a reassuring smile.

The sudden bloom of French speaking encouraged other bouts of conversation, though no one else really had any languages in common outside of English. Many broke up into pairs or small groups.

Rapunzel purposely stayed close to Mulan in particular. "I know my native language is German, and I speak English pretty well." She smoothed out her long hair as she spoke. "But really, I've always wanted to learn Chinese."

Now Mulan was intrigued. "Really? That's not something I hear every day. What makes you want to learn?"

"Oh I don't know…the characters are so beautiful, and mystical! I've seen them in my books, you know. They look like the words that they mean, you know?"

Mulan did know, but she was amused by Rapunzel's explanation and encouraged her to continue.

"The sounds are also so soothing! Like a lullaby almost!" The long-haired girl seemed to float to her own personal reverie before Mulan interrupted her thoughts with a string of harsh sounding Cantonese words.

"_lei gok duk jong mun hai ho lang dek mun wah ah?" _**You really think Chinese is a beautiful language? **Rapunzel's green eyes widened as her mouth tilted into a large grin.

"See? That sounds just like German!"

* * *

By 10:30, all the girls seemed to have connected with someone else; all except Jasmine who watched while her roommate Mulan chatted with Rapunzel the entire duration of the group meeting. Jasmine and Mulan were supposed to have lunch together as they usually did during the late mornings before the afternoon classes. Granted, they had only known each other a few days and didn't have all that much in common, but she was still someone to talk to.

For a lonely girl from a misunderstood part of the world, Jasmine was distraught when Mulan canceled their lunch plans to instead go to the library with Rapunzel to tutor her in Chinese. It wasn't the fact that Mulan had canceled that bothered Jasmine, or the fact that she was having trouble connecting with her discussion group. It was the fact that she was never good at making friends in the first place.

As she strolled across campus wondering what to do with her free time, she thought back to her life in Jordan where at least she was held in high regard. Her parents were over protective and she was rarely allowed to go outside and explore, making it very tough to build the proper social skills to make friends. When she did go outside, (whether escaping her house or out on a family trip), all she had to do was mention her family name and she would be treated less like a human being, and more like a lifeless sack of gold. But she was still loved and adored by her family…

_Al Muhaisen Jaber…_Her own family name sounded like a spit whenever she said it out loud or introduced herself. Not so much the sound of it, but the meaning that came along with it. The meaning that screamed _"Hey, I'm rich and royal and therefore better than you!" _It was a curse. A terrible curse that threatened every bit of self-worth the semi-royal young woman wanted to preserve. All she ever wanted was one friend to rely on, to talk to and to introduce her to a world she never knew was out there.

Then she noticed that she was in front of one of the University's coffee shops. Considering it was one of the few days of the year that England was actually sunny, she figured she could take advantage of her free time and buy an iced coffee drink. However, when she walked in it wasn't the menu that caught her eye, but the attractive cashier who looked Arab himself.

Jasmine prepared her order as she approached the counter, determined to order in Arabic to see if he would take the bait and be impressed by her wit – or at least her beauty. If there was anything she was sure of, it was that her beauty was remarkable as she often received compliments because of it, sometimes even marriage proposals. Though she rarely liked to use her looks to charm people in Jordan, she figured that she needed something to make her feel good in England where she wasn't the most attractive woman about, even if it meant exploiting the one thing she knew how to.

"_ana 'ayiza qahwa wa shay." Crap. _She knew she made a mistake the moment she uttered her order. Charm and wit were sadly the qualities she wanted to work on the most, and were so far not going to much use.

The cashier was amused though. "You want coffee _and_ tea? _Inti majnoona! Fil haar?" _**You must be crazy! In this heat?**

Jasmine blushed in her shyness, even though the handsome young man was smiling at her, maybe even flirting a bit. She could care less that he called her crazy, but instead focused on the fact that he was Arab after all, or at least could speak Arabic. "Maybe, just the tea then?"

He grinned. "Absolutely! Say, _inti 'arabiya?" _**Are you Arab?**

Jasmine nodded. _"Aywa, ana min al'urdan. Inta mineen?" _**Yes, I'm from Jordan. Where are you from?**

"Sorry miss, I don't disclose information to strangers. I'll be off in five minutes though. Why don't you have a seat and I'll bring your tea personally to your table."

Jasmine nodded again. "_Shukraan!" _**Thank you! **She wondered why she was still speaking Arabic even though he was speaking to her in English, but in her heart she knew that she was homesick and in need of some familiarity. Meeting this attractive Arab student was comforting to her, and allowed her to speak in her home language, even if she wasn't used to speaking to strangers in the first place.

He was right though, within five minutes he was out from behind the counter and sitting across from her at the table. She had a chance to get a decent look at him while he placed her tea in front of her. He was very tan, with a slight build and dark, wavy hair. She wondered if he was from Yemen or another Gulf state where it was common for people to be so dark, whereas the people around the Levant where she was from have more varied skin tones.

"To answer your question from before, I'm originally from Palestine, but I've been living here in England for over ten years." His words caused her heart to sink. _Palestinian?_ She was automatically reminded of the strife between Palestinian-Jordanians and Jordanian-Jordanians and how tense situations are due to the large influx of refugees from Gaza and the West Bank into Jordan. Being a Jordanian-Jordanian, and from a rich family, she knew all too well what her family would think if they started dating.

She knew she was getting ahead of herself, but culturally speaking, when a young man and a young woman start talking and they aren't related, it's not unusual to have rushed thoughts and feelings. The young man sensed her discomfort. He knew something he said upset her, so he tried to find ways to change the subject.

"I'm Aladdin by the way. Aladdin Abbas. Sorry if I don't feel much like speaking Arabic. I can see that you do considering you haven't said a word to me in English at all. Do you even understand what I'm saying at all? I get the feeling you do because you've been responding to me. May I have the luxury of knowing your name?"

Oh no. He said 'luxury!' She automatically assumed that he knew she was rich! What would he think?

"My name is Jasmine…Darwish. I'm also Palestinian, but my family lives in Jordan now." She knew she was lying and she ransacked her brain for a Palestinian sounding name and decided upon the family name of the famous poet, Mahmoud Darwish. In an effort to hide her hyperbole of a story, she tried to flirt once again by flashing her winning smile. "And as you can see, Aladdin. My English is quite good."

"Well Jasmine, it's a pleasure to meet you. When you're finished with your tea, will you allow me to walk you to your next class?"

Jasmine was ecstatic to find someone to talk with, someone who shares her background…though deep down she knew she would have to tell him the truth someday if they progressed further beyond friendship, but she bit back these thoughts, hoping to at least have some fun before she would have to break the news to him.

* * *

_Author's Note:__  
__Hi again everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews!__  
__disney-fr3ak, risingstar9328, and AndieTiggerPyro - means a lot to me! =] _

_In any case, I know this chapter is shorter. Just had my wisdom teeth extracted so I'm a bit loopy but I knew that I wouldn't have free time to write for a while so I decided to take advantage of the situation in any way that I could. From now on though each chapter will feature both Monday's and Thursday's as opposed to one or the other. Just for the sake of saving time and less room for babble. Plus I'm hoping that by doing that the story will move at a bit of a faster pace. _

_I actually don't speak any French, so if anyone who does reads this, please correct me if anything I wrote is incorrect! I do speak Cantonese and Arabic though and I love fitting as much in as I can. I also speak some Russian too so I can't wait to write Anastasia's section! =D (who yes, I do know is not Disney but her involvement in this story just seems to perfect with the international setting, I couldn't dare leave her out) _

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please review, criticize, compliment, suggest...anything! I love hearing from readers! And everything is welcome. Thank you again!_

_-Suzerenma_


	3. (3) Week Two, Monday: Rapunzel

**Chapter 3 - Week Two: Monday – On Insecurity and Shamelessness  
**

"Why don't we have any men in our group?" Jasmine asked as the group settled in for discussion. "I mean, there are male international students aren't there?"

Jane hesitated a moment while she sought after an answer _She's right, why aren't there any boys?_ "Well, I think Ms. Poppins wanted to start with a smaller demographic and see how the group worked before making it larger." _Does that even make sense?_

"Don't worry Jane, Jasmine's just met a boy last week and they've been spending quite a bit of time together." Mulan chuckled as she recalled the past few nights of Jasmine swooning after Aladdin dropped her off back at the housing complex. "I admit, he is rather handsome." She winked in Jasmine's direction and was met with a very unsubtle eye roll.

The group was curious about Jasmine's brand new love affair – if they could even call it that. Many wanted to know his name, what he looked like, where he's from; the usual questions. But Jasmine wasn't yet ready to talk about Aladdin or the direction their friendship was moving in. She instead chose to savor the sweet moments they had, worried that her optimism – which had reached an immeasurably high level thus far - could come crashing down at any moment.

"Eh, who needs men anyway? I'm content living on my own, an independent woman with no need for a man – or a woman for that matter before I give any of you lovely ladies any ideas – to keep me satisfied." Came Meg, who had previously been mostly quiet during discussion groups.

Kida, who had become rather bonded to Meg, was in agreement. "Maybe we are just not all intended to be partnered with someone. Perhaps we have other life goals to be concerned over."

* * *

Rapunzel knew that someday she wanted to love and be loved, though she too felt pessimistic at times as to whether or not that would ever happen. She knew she had the reputation for being bubbly, chipper and all sorts of fun and happy, but she rarely let herself show her weaknesses or her fears. Her biggest fear being that she would not live a full life.

Since Rapunzel arrived in England, she spent most of her time in the housing complex, either reading, drawing or studying. Well, mostly studying. She knew in her heart that if she took a full course load that she would be kept busy which would leave less room for fearful thoughts. However, it was only a week into the term and she already worked through enough coursework and studying to keep her prepared for more than a quarter of the entire term.

Rapunzel sighed as she dropped her pencil on her notebook and rested her head on the floor. Though the room she shared with Anastasia was comfortably furnished, with two beds, two desks equipped with cushioned chairs and even a sofa for watching television, Rapunzel preferred to do her work on the floor so that she could spread out without anything inhibiting her comfort zone. Anastasia was usually out wandering around campus or London – Rapunzel didn't really know, or even care too much.

There was no question that they got along with one another, but it was obvious that they still came from different worlds and preferred to keep to themselves. For the most part, the times Rapunzel spent outside of her room after classes was mostly spent in the library or in the center park with Mulan, who she felt an unexplainable connection to the moment they met. Perhaps it was their clumsiness or their shamelessness that they had in common, or maybe even just the fact that they shared an interest in each other's respective language and culture. Though sometimes Rapunzel wondered if Mulan was bothered by her seemingly constant energy and perpetual sugar rush, but deep down she knew these were just some of her many insecurities.

While she rested on the floor completely sprawled out with her long hair in all direction, and blunt pencil laying by her cheek, the young woman wondered why she was so intent on staying inside when she could be out wandering like Anastasia or the other girls. No doubt, she was in some sort of mental, emotional slump that she couldn't quite understand.

"I guess I'm just scared." She pondered as she picked up her pencil and began to doodle in her art history notebook. "But scared of what?"

As she asked herself this question out loud, she became aware of the noises coming from outside her window from the park across from the housing complex, and an idea popped into her head. So she closed her art history notes, slipped into her shoes and ran outside to see if this group of people was up to anything interesting. When she got outside and ran across the path to the park she observed a group of young students huddled around and cheering at a pair of fencers.

Rapunzel didn't know much about fencing or really any physical sport for that matter, but she was curious to learn more. From what she could tell as she approached the group, the two fighters were both male and reasonably athletic. One wore a full white suit and the other wore a mixed white and blue suit, the details Rapunzel used to decipher between the two of them.

As she watched for a few more minutes, she became entranced by the movements of the fighters and the art that accompanies such a rigid but fluid sport. She noticed that the fighter in all white used more rigid movements, while the fighter in blue moved more fluidly and gracefully. As a young woman with not much grace or balance, she focused upon the fighter in blue as if his grace could be radiated back to her through her gaze. Within a matter of mere moments, the fighter in all white took a spar to the chest and the fight was over.

Naturally, Rapunzel cheered for her elegant victor but on some level she felt sorry for his opponent. She watched as both men took off their helmets to reveal two strikingly different, yet oddly similar young men. The man in blue was slightly darker in complexion with a suave demeanor about him as he smoothed out his brown hair and checked his goatee. The man in all white had jet black hair tied into a small pony tail to reveal a much defined widows peak and very high cheek bones. Rapunzel watched as the two men shook hands.

"Well Li, better luck next time I guess. We can't all be perfect at everything, and you, my good sir are certainly not well suited for fencing." The man in blue said to his opponent.

"Says the man I trained in the art itself. You did very well Rider, you've even bested me at my own game. How about we go and grab some lunch to celebrate?"

Without even a second of hesitation, Rapunzel ran up to the two men and began to speak at about the speed of a bullet train "So I was watching you guys fight and I was really impressed by both of you, especially you blue-suit man, not just because you won but because you were so graceful and so poised, but that doesn't mean you white-suit man were bad, it's just that I'm super clumsy and I wish I could be less clumsy and now I'm speaking really fast because I'm nervous and I'm nervous because I'm speaking fast, and mother hates it when I don't speak clearly…"

As she trailed off she noticed the two men staring at her in utter confusion. So the man 'Rider' spoke up. "Sorry Blondie, I don't have my translator for 'Crazy' on me, but maybe you can try another frequency."

The man "Li" grinned playfully at his friend before saying to Rapunzel "_Ni ke yi shuo zhong wen."_ **You could speak in Chinese.**

Rapunzel's eyes lit up and a wide grin emerged across her face. "_Wo zhi dai xiao xiao zhong wen"_** I speak a little Chinese**. The man cringed at the sound of her badly broken accent.

"Yeah, you might want to work on that a bit before you try that again."

"Oops, sorry" the young woman apologized very sincerely looking distressed "I just started learning last week anyway, a friend is tutoring me so I'm still very new at this. My name is Rapunzel by the way. I'm a first year student from Germany" She said, extending her hand in introduction.

The man in white smiled and shook her hand. "My name is Shang Li. I'm a student here at the university as well, but I coach the fencing team." He gestured to the man in blue. "This here is my student Flynn Rider, though as you can see, he may have surpassed his teacher as of today." Shang slapped a hand on Flynn's shoulder.

"So what brings you here Ra…" Flynn began, snapping his fingers trying to remember how to pronounce her very bizarre sounding name.

"Rapunzel"

"Yeah yeah, that. So what brings you here?"

"Well, I really wanted a new experience. I was homeschooled in Germany, I rarely went outside, I have no social skills—"

"Oh yeah, we can definitely tell that." The goateed fencer interrupted. Rapunzel scowled.

"Anyway, I came to England to change my life and make a dent in my dreams and I want to learn how to fence."

Expecting laughter and humiliation, Rapunzel cringed awaiting a blow to her confidence but was instead caught off guard by the response.

"Sure." Shang said. "I don't see why not, I mean, we're short on team members anyway and could really use a new man—or woman, in your case."

Flynn on the other hand, was not so sure of the idea. "Wait a minute Li, you're not seriously about to let this doll faced kid on to the fencing team are you?"

Shang nodded. "Yes, I am serious. It's rare enough to find first year students interested in participating in fencing, let alone girls. I think she'd be a great asset to our team."

Flynn gaped at his mentor, obviously in solid disagreement. "Are you out of your mind? You must be crazy! She already admitted to being clumsy and when she's not falling down, tripping on her own hair—didn't even think that was possible until now—or accidentally puncturing someone's jugular, she'll talk your ear off! What are you thinking Li?"

Shang pondered for a minute, resting some of his weight on his sword. "I'm thinking that…you, can be her personal tutor to ensure that she will succeed in her training." His apprentice began to protest. "No, let me finish. If she is not prepared by our first meet next month, I will hold you personally accountable." With that the mentor flashed a grin. "I'll let your imagination decide what those consequences will be."

The mentor turned his attention to Rapunzel who appeared to be on the verge of exploding with glee. She squealed and threw her arms around Shang's neck, repeatedly thanking him. "I promise you won't regret this!"

"It's no problem to me! Say, would you like to join us for lunch?" Shang asked, noting Flynn vigorously shaking his head at the very prospect. "I'm sure you two will want to be better acquainted before you start training."

Rapunzel couldn't be more ecstatic at what had just transpired over the past few moments. "Yes! I love friends! And I'm famished. What are we eating? Where are we going? This is SO COOL!"

Flynn just sighed as the three students began walking toward the center of campus. Rapunzel offered to help carry some of his gear. "Don't worry Flynn—teacher—I'll probably grow on you in time."

* * *

_Author's Note:__  
__Hi again everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews!__  
__disney-fr3ak, risingstar9328, and AndieTiggerPyro, Solaria Daughter of Apollo, Justdance111 and the mysterious Guest - means a lot as always! __  
__Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, featuring Rapunzel. I decided that I probably will just feature one day and one character per chapter. It makes it easier to write chapters at a relatively fast pace. Before anyone asks, I will clarify that for this story, all relationships will be canon and will probably only focus on the first term. If this story is successful, I may write a sequel which may change things up a bit. We'll see as time goes on. _

_Stay tuned for next chapter! =]_

_-Suzerenma_


	4. (4) Week Two, Thursday: Belle

**Chapter 4 - Week Two: Thursday – On Sheltered Anxieties  
**

The young women sat in their usual arrangements in a circle, silently waiting for Jane to make some form of announcement as to what their discussion topic would be for the day. It was another sweltering day and the room did not have air conditioning or even a fan. Certainly it didn't help that the room was in the basement thus there weren't any windows to open.

"Jane, don't you think we should have a bit more air coming in here? I feel like I'm drowning in my own sweat."

Jane looked up to meet Esmeralda's pleading green eyes. Sure enough, she was sweating quite a bit while trying to fan herself with a piece of binder paper. Jane too felt miserable, but she knew there was nothing she could do.

"I suppose I can ask around the administrative office, perhaps ask Ms. Poppins for a small fan at least."

Anastasia groaned at the idea of waiting. "By the time we get a small fan it will be winter and we will be in need of a space heater instead."

Jane was about to speak up but was interrupted by the sound of someone running down to hall. The girls flinched when they heard the distinct sound of two people crashing into one another, followed by a high pitched screech and a loud _thud _as the two people fell to the ground.

"I'm so, so, SO, sorry!" came the Rapunzel's horrified voice from the hallway. "I was running to get to this seminar and I guess I-"

"Your hair kidnapped my legs!" The voice was unfamiliar, masculine and angry. Jane politely removed herself from the group to investigate the situation in the hall. What she found was a sight too preposterous for words: the man was sprawled out on the floor with his legs indeed caught in messy knots of Rapunzel's hair. The young woman was so flustered, trying to untangle herself from the man while simultaneously scooping up her fencing equipment that had spilled in all directions.

Jane shook her head and stepped back into the meeting room to ask some of the other girls to help. The first to stand ready to assist was Belle, already used to cleaning up strange situations at home with her father whose inventions often resulted in catastrophe. She was soon followed by Kida and Esmeralda.

Belle stepped over the man to reach Rapunzel. "Are you alright dear?" She asked, helping the nervous girl collect her fencing equipment while Kida and Esmeralda tried to untie the knots. Rapunzel nodded, still worried that the man would still be angry with her.

As if on cue, the man scoffed. "Of course she's alright. She's not the one tangled in someone else s _hair_." At this remark Kida took it upon herself to pin him down.

"Stop struggling!" She snapped. "Do you want us to help you or not? The more you spout your tirade, the less likely we will be able to get you out of this mess."

"Kida, there's no need to add insult to injury. He's just upset because he's embarrassed he got stuck in something so outrageous that he can't cope." Belle said, looking at the man with some form of sympathy. Meanwhile he just lay there, with Kida pinning his arms and Esmeralda steadily loosening the hair around his legs.

With a triumphant smile, Esmeralda untied the last loop and released the man from Rapunzel's golden locks. "There, you're free. Now you can be a pest somewhere else."

"Thank heaven for that! Watch where you're going next time, brat!" He spat at Rapunzel who had sunk to the ground with her back against the wall. She hastily gathered her hair into a ball and stared as he scampered off through the corridors.

Belle breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad the man was gone and silently hoped to never see him again. She and Kida reached down to help a reluctant Rapunzel off the floor and guided her into the meeting room.

"Don't worry sweetie, he's just a mindless jerk. He won't be bothering you again." Kida soothingly told Rapunzel as she and Belle linked arms with the nervous girl. Esmeralda followed with Rapunzel's fencing gear, shaking her head in the direction of the man who disrupted their meeting time.

* * *

When the group had concluded the meeting session with no particular discussion topic, Belle decided to head to the library for some peace and quiet. Most of the girls who didn't have afternoon classes decided that they would go for a dip in the pool to escape the heat. Belle knew that she wasn't a good swimmer, and she didn't feel particularly social either. The morning's events had her in an uncomfortable slump for the rest of the day.

She wasn't used to so much commotion all at once. In fact, she was still adjusting to living in a big city where people were not guaranteed to be as friendly and accepting as the people from her village. Granted, they whispered behind her back and poked fun at her father's failed inventions, and she knew this all too well. They were never outright cruel or hurtful though. There was always a sense of community and helpfulness if anyone was in trouble. For the most part, the villagers were understanding of mishaps as they happened fairly often in a rural environment.

Belle sighed as she reached up to grab a dusty book off the shelf in the 'Travel' section. She had looked up travel anecdotes the night before for some new reading material. She was particularly interested in the concept of international study and learning from other cultures. In fact, the only reason she chose to attend the University was to join the International Student group and meet other students who made the trek to England as a means of breaking out of a stagnant home life – at least, that was her reasoning for leaving France to study abroad.

The book she pulled out was _The Innocents Abroad_, by Mark Twain. Belle had read several books by him, her favorite being the _Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ which introduced her to a historic view of life in rural America. This book however, _The Innocents Abroad_, was one she never had a chance to read. While it was published and translated into French, she knew she wanted to read it in English to truly achieve the sense of travel that Twain depicted. She also knew that there were subtleties in American English such as satire that would be missed if she read it in French.

At this point in her life, Belle was ready to crack open the binding of the green, hardcover library copy in front of her. She was finally ready to read the long awaited semi-autobiography of an expedition she had always dreamed of reading about. Now that she was finally on her own expedition, she was ready. Though something gnawed at her still as she began to read the introduction. The morning's events were still raw in her mind and she hardly could focus on the text. Instead she kept replaying the man's voice in her head, and his blatant disrespect to her and her friends.

Belle shivered as the scene continued to haunt her through the afternoon. She was frustrated that she couldn't shake it off and put the morning away into the past (where it belonged.) There was no doubt in her mind that she was bitter at how sheltered she was growing up and how isolated she was in her village compared to city folk who experienced this outright disrespect on a regular basis. So with an aggravated huff, she closed the book and headed to the checkout counter.

As she waited in line to check out her book, Belle was suddenly alarmed to hear the deep, familiar voice she heard in the morning. "I told you already! I'm not paying anything to you people! I just need to return this stupid book I didn't even need."

The voice behind the counter was stern and unmoving. "Gaston, you stole that book two years ago. You need to pay the fine or the University will not let you graduate."

The man from the morning, Gaston was fuming again and threw the book at the library clerk. The young man behind the counter dodged the blow, and Belle flinched at the crack of hardcover hitting linoleum."Fine, you play your little game Adam, I'll play along too. But I'll tell you now that you're not getting out of this one this time. No more second chances."

Within an instant, Gaston turned around to face Belle, a sly grin emerging on his face in recognition. "Well, if it isn't the rescue squad leader. Pleased to make your acquaintance once again my lady." He sneered and gave a mock bow. Belle's legs began to shake as she watched his eyes slither over her body. "I'll definitely be seeing you again..."

Gaston gave one last threatening look at the library clerk before stomping out. "Remember what I said, Adam. Don't forget." He announced over his shoulder.

Belle let out an exasperated sigh and leaned against the check-out counter for support. Her legs were still wobbling. The clerk, Adam was obviously irritable. "That guy...I swear, if he crosses my path again..." He shook his head in disdain and looked at Belle. His eyes softened a bit, but still held a bite. "Are you alright?" He asked with some hesitation.

The young woman looked up into the young man's still somewhat cold and unwelcoming blue eyes. She nodded softly and remembered why she was there in the first place. "I would like to check out this book, if that's OK?"

Adam grabbed the Twain book out of her hands and placed it under the scanner. He shook his head. "So that's it? You have nothing else to say about what just happened?"

"Excuse me?" Belle was perplexed.

"I mean, you were bothered by him too weren't you? And you have nothing to say? No thank-you or anything?"

Belle was taken aback. "Thank you for _what?_ You stood there and took his abuse. You let him threaten you, and then you stood behind your desk in safety while he harassed me!" Her voice was rising. She was becoming unglued once again, this time in anger at Adam's ridiculous questions.

Adam put his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, hey alright. I see your point, no need to get bent out of shape over this. You're stressed, I understand. I spoke out of line out of my own stress at the situation. Just trying to make conversation..." He handed the book back to her with a receipt on top and extended his hand in peace. "Let's start over. My name is Adam, I'm a student and the assistant librarian."

Belle relaxed and hesitantly took his hand. "I'm Belle, I'm an international student from France."

The young man gave her a small smile, all signs of anger erased from his face. "It's very nice to meet you Belle, maybe I will see you again soon, hopefully without a theatrical performance."

She was still feeling overwhelmed, especially after the second encounter with Gaston but she let herself relax slightly, even if only to show that she was willing to start over. "I love libraries, so I will definitely be back again in the near future." She picked up her book and gave a nod to Adam on her way out. "It was nice to meet you too."

As Belle wandered out of the library she began to wonder if Adam might someday become a friend. She thought back to his face and realized that she couldn't remember exactly what he looked like. All she could think about were his piercing blue eyes that made her feel both uneasy, yet somehow comfortable. She couldn't figure out why he made such an impression on her or even if he had made an impression at all. He seemed friendly enough, a bit harsh but polite. Then she remembered the words Gaston said to him "_No more second chances..." _Second chances for what? It was his association with Gaston that made Belle queasy, and she couldn't shed the thought that if she and Adam did develop a friendship that Gaston would inevitably make an appearance once again. Nauseated and unsure of herself, Belle was content with putting the day's hazy events into the back of her mind, but she was continuously intrigued by the strange library assistant and definitely wanted to know more about him.

* * *

_Author's Note:  
Hi again everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews!  
disney-fr3ak, risingstar9328, and AndieTiggerPyro, Solaria Daughter of Apollo, Justdance111, Ms. Emily Vega, yeahIwentthere69, supersmashkingdomhearts1999 and all my mysterious guest reviews! You are all fantastic!_

_An extra thank you to __** yeahIwentthere69**__ for inspiring me to write Belle into this chapter. I was having so much writer's block that I couldn't even figure out a decent starting point! _

_I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I will do my best to update more frequently =] Let me know if you have any suggestions, requests, critiques, or any other thoughts that you would like to share. Your voices are important! _

_-Suzerenma_


	5. (5) Week Three, Monday: Kida

**Chapter 5 - Week Three: Monday – On Cultural Perceptions**

Jane prepared through the entire weekend for the day's discussion topic but before she could even introduce it to the group, she was abruptly interrupted by Belle raising her hand to speak.

"I'm sorry Jane, I'll let you begin in a few minutes. I just wanted to share this amazing book I have been reading." She held up her library copy of _The Innocents Abroad_ for everyone to see. "It has so much detail and description about travel and what it's like to experience traveling in a group." She gleamed with pride. "I very much recommend this to all of you!"

The group was very interested in Belle's book, Particularly Tiana. "I've actually read it before! I'm a big fan of Mark Twain myself."

Belle gave Tiana an approving nod before continuing. "I'm almost finished if anyone wants to read it. Just let me know so that we can renew it at the library."

Esmeralda chuckled at Belle's mention of the library. "I know what you're doing, you're thinking about that Adam fellow aren't you? Trying to find some excuse to see him again?" She winked in the direction of Belle whose face was beginning to flush.

"I don't know what you're talking about Esmeralda." She said defensively, causing Esmeralda to erupt in a hearty laugh.

"Oh come on Belle! We both know that you've been thinking about him since you met him last Thursday. You would not stop talking about him all weekend!"

"I think Belle and Jasmine should double date, now that they both have a romantic interest." Mulan piped up, nudging Jasmine in the side causing the other girl to jump in her chair.

Jasmine was also on the defensive. "That's not fair! Aladdin and I aren't even officially dating!"

"But you are _un_officially dating then?" Mulan continued to tease her roommate who was becoming even more flustered.

"No, I didn't say that either! I'll admit that we want to see each other, but it's complicated." Jasmine responded while rubbing her temples. This conversation was beginning to cross her comfort zone.

"What makes it so complicated? Are you not allowed to date or something?" Esmeralda asked, a single eyebrow raised.

Jasmine threw her hands in the air. "YES!" She yelled and leaned forward in her chair so that her head was nearly lying on her knees. Granted, her not being allowed to date was not the full reason for the complications between her and Aladdin, but it was certainly part of the truth. Mulan, who suddenly felt guilty for putting Jasmine in such a vulnerable position started rubbing her back in apology. She didn't know what to say so she kept silent. Meanwhile Jasmine kept her head resting on her knees while the rest of the room remained quiet.

Jane broke the silence "I think we should get off of this subject. It appears it's a bit sensitive to some and I want to reiterate that this is supposed to be a safe space for all of us." she warned. "This is also a good place for us to switch to the discussion topic I have chosen for the day: cultural identification and practices."

Jasmine looked up, relieved that the dating conversation was over. Belle too was pleased that she didn't have to explain anything more about Adam for the time being. After a few moments of silence, Meg spoke up. "I want to know more about where Ariel and Kida are from."

Kida paled at the sound of her name and secretly imagined strangling her roommate for forcing her to speak up. Truthfully, she didn't even know where to begin on the subject of her culture. She was more than grateful that Ariel took the reins of the conversation, giving her more time to think in hopes that Ariel would chatter until the end of the seminar.

The young redhead cleared her throat. "Well, as you all know from our first day, I'm from the sea. Not literally of course, but my family works on ships so I spent my entire life at sea." She looked around at her peers awaiting approval to continue.

Kida's heart was racing and her palms began to sweat. "Tell us more Ariel! I'm really fascinated by the fact that you grew up on a boat and not on land." She prompted, flashing a rigid smile knowing that she could at least stall for a short time by asking questions to keep Ariel talking.

Ariel bit her lip and furrowed her brow as she contemplated what would be interesting or relevant. "I'm a good swimmer because of the way I grew up, and I am well accustomed to cold weather. The smell of fish doesn't bother me either, though it does get old eating seafood every day..." She shrugged.

"Okay, but what language did you grow up speaking? What sort of traditions does your culture have?" Kida prodded.

"Well, we speak a few languages I suppose, more of a mid-Atlantic Creole because we picked up our vocabulary from the various sailors who came aboard. As I've said before, my passport is Danish and most of our words are Danish or Swedish. I've always known English though."

"And traditions?"

"We didn't really have any specific traditions, though I guess you can say that living at sea is a tradition. I've never eaten red meat and we're not religious. We don't have any folk songs either." Ariel grasped for anything 'unusual' or 'unique' that might pertain to her background. "What about you Kida?"

The young woman froze, realizing that she would have to speak after all. Her interrogation with Ariel was stopped short due to Ariel's own discomfort at describing her complex culture. Kida struggled with what she would say, unsure of how she would proceed. The others waited patiently as she opened her mouth to speak, only to close her mouth again and shake her head. She looked at the clock, noting that there was still plentiful time left of the seminar. She knew she wouldn't be able to stall any longer so she did the only thing she could do when she couldn't find the right words.

"I have to go." She uttered quickly and sprinted out the door, leaving her classmates in complete confusion as to what had just transpired.

* * *

Kida listened to the enthusiastic student-teacher describe the ancient pottery of the Sumerian culture during her Classical Archaeology course. It was exactly one hour after she mysteriously fled the seminar and she was still contemplating as to why she had such a difficult time talking about her background. In truth, she had no idea what her background was. She knew how she grew up, she knew her phenotype, and she knew some oral traditions that have passed through many generations, but there was still a lot she didn't know.

She loved growing up in Iceland and she identified with the Icelandic culture and spoke the Icelandic language. That all made sense. Yet she knew there was more to her than being 'Icelandic.' When she was younger, she used to compare herself to her peers, noting that there were very few similarities in their appearances, mostly in skin color. There was no doubt that her appearance is striking: with beautiful tan skin, white hair, ice-blue eyes and tattoos to match, she knew she was unique. In truth, she hated the term 'exotic,' though that was usually the first word people used to describe her.

Knowing that there were obvious differences between her and other Icelandic's, she often pondered if her ancestry involved more than just being Icelandic. It was even a legend that her family was descendant from the ancient Atlantians. Kida chuckled out loud, recalling the ridiculous family claim. There wasn't any evidence that such a place even existed, how could she be a descendant of a non-existent people from a non-existent place? Yet, there were too many unanswered questions to let any theory go to waste.

Kida was interrupted from her thoughts at the sound of feet shuffling around the auditorium. When she looked around she noticed that everyone was leaving. She was puzzled, lecture couldn't possibly have ended already...When she looked at the time on the laptop screen projected at the front of the auditorium, she realized that lecture had indeed ended. While she rushed to pack up her belongings and her notes, everything fell out of her bag forcing her to crouch on the ground to retrieve it all. However, this distracted her from the large, clumsy boy bounding behind her. He didn't notice her either, so it was certainly a shock to both of them when he tripped over her legs.

In order to keep himself from falling on top of her, he oriented his weight on to her desk, knocking it over. Kida released a scream of pain as the desk toppled on to her right middle finger, making a distinct cracking sound in the process. Her face turned bright red as she bit her lip to stifle her tears and screams. The boy was absolutely horrified, his mouth a gaping hole as he stared at her, scrambling to find a way to help her.

"Are you OK? Should I call an ambulance? Do you need help up? What can I do?" He stammered, his head turning from side to side looking for someone to take the responsibility from him. Kida just screamed obscenities back at him. Though she knew he didn't mean to hurt her, she couldn't help the pain she was feeling and tried to channel her pain into anger instead. Suddenly a voice approached from behind the boy.

"You can leave now Mole, I'll take over from here." The boy – Mole – only had to be told once that his presence was no longer needed. When he scurried away, Kida looked up to see who had spoken and came face to face with the teacher's assistant who was lecturing before. "I know some basic first aid, and I think I can set your finger back." He offered.

Kida gave the assistant a skeptical look, taking note of his somewhat ragged appearance and the fact that he could barely keep his thick-lensed glasses atop his awkward, triangular face. Most days she found him comical as he fumbled about his words and his information – no doubt a lot more information than necessary for an introductory course. This time, as he knelt beside her on the auditorium floor offering to set her broken finger, she was almost terrified of him.

She vigorously shook her head. "No, no, that's not necessary...I'll find the nurse."

"No really, I know how to do this. It will only take a moment." He was insistent. To demonstrate, he began to fiddle with her finger, sending shocks of pain throughout her entire body. He flinched at her screaming and shrugged his shoulders, trying to hide from her angry, red and sweating face. "I guess it's not that way...let me try again."

This time, Kida didn't give him the chance. Taking his cue of what **not **to do when setting a finger, she took back her hand and abruptly twisted her finger until both she and the assistant winced at the chorus of cracks that emerged from her finger. Instantly, she felt better. "I guess it wasn't really broken, just dislodged." She sighed.

After a few moments of awkward silence between Kida and the assistant, the man coughed and offered his hand in greeting. "I'm sure you already know this, but I'm Milo. I'm the professor's assistant for classical archaeology." He was shy and ashamed, keeping his head pointed toward his knees while his hand stretched out waiting for the injured woman to shake it and introduce herself.

She knew he meant well, so she forgave him for his atrocious attempt at first aid. So she took his hand, wincing at first when her middle finger buckled against his and introduced herself in response. "My name is Kidagakash, but you can call me Kida. I'm an international student from Iceland."

At the mention of Iceland, Milo shot his head up and looked the young woman straight in the eye. Taking note of her physical appearance and her tattoos, he shook his head back in forth, his eyes widening. "Can't be..." he muttered to himself. Puzzled, Kida was about to respond but was instead surprised to find Milo pulling her up off the floor, nearly dragging her out of the auditorium.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked him, trying not to trip over her feet as he briskly walked ahead, his long legs making faster strides than hers.

"To the lab. I have to look at something and I would really like you to help me out." He answered over his shoulder as they continued walking. Though cryptic, this was enough for Kida to agree to go along. She was curious to know what the connection could be between her, Iceland and the archaeology lab he was taking her to. What could she help with? She wondered.

After jogging through a labyrinth of hallways and taking the elevator to the top floor of the building, the pair finally reached the archaeology lab. Milo released his grip on Kida's hand to punch in a code on the padlocked door. She expected a clean, spotless and categorized set of rooms with scientists in white lab coats. Instead to her disappointment, she entered into a large room in complete disarray. The room was covered with posters from various locations plastered on the walls, glass cases of unidentifiable bones and pottery, and in the very middle of the lab was a table with small, uncleaned bones scattered about the tabletop while young interns in jeans worked to identify the specimens.

Kida followed Milo to his desk. What caught her eye was not the fact that his desk was far more cluttered than the others in the room (though it was), but the fact that his desk contained photographs and stacks of books about Iceland – Icelandic mythology to be exact. _While Kida scanned the book titled and the notes, Milo flipped through one book in particular titled "How Atlantis was confused to be Greek."_

_Atlantis_. The young woman's heart started racing as she read the name, repeating it in her mind over and over again while recalling the old family legend about being descended from the ancient Atlantians. Without a word, she leaned against a stack of books next to his desk. Milo silently continued flipping through the book, his eyebrows rising and falling as he scanned the pages. Finally, he exclaimed "Aha! I found you!" And placed the book in Kida's hands.

What she saw was a photograph of a mummified corpse, apparently found off the coast of Iceland. The corpse had remains of snowy, white hair and tanned skin – features Kida assumed only belonged to her family and herself. The corpse also had faint remains of light blue tattoos on the side of the face and the body. The young woman stroke her face lightly as she stared at the image. No doubt there was a strange connection.

After a few moments, Milo leaned over her shoulder. "So, what are your thoughts?" His voice alerted Kida back to reality, and she slammed the book shut, releasing a cloud of dust into the air. Her eyes were streaked with anger as she looked up at him. "Do you think this is some kind of joke? What do you know about me?" She hissed, cornering the young man between his desk and his book stacks.

Milo was taken aback, not at all expecting this type of reaction. "No, not at all, I don't know anything about you. See, I have been doing some research about Atlantis and -"

"ATLANTIS!" Kida roared, interrupting his explanation. He looked up at her, running a hand through his hair, trying to keep calm. "Ever since I was young all I have been hearing about is Atlantis! Yet no one can give me any bit of information as to how this is relevant to me." She continued, throwing her arms in the air before placing them behind her head.

"I know that I'm different. I know that I don't look like a 'normal' Icelandic. I know that there is more to me than being Icelandic. Yet no one seems to have any idea of how to explain these things. Then I hear a family legend about Atlantis and then I hear it from you!" She exclaimed, addressing Milo directly. The anger seemed to fade from her face and was instead replaced with some form of fear and anxiety. "You must understand...this is not an easy conversation for me..."

Milo remained silent, watching as the tormented young woman paced around his workspace muttering under her breath about her confusing identity. He cleared his throat to speak "Kida, I truly had no idea how this would affect you. I thought you might know something already. It seems you are just as puzzled as I am, though from the opposite end of the spectrum..." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "You see, I too have been hearing of nothing but Atlantis as well while growing up. My grandfather was also a researcher – an archaeologist of the Arctic to be specific – and he always had this theory about Atlantis being in Iceland, not in Greece" This got Kida's attention.

He continued. "You see, I picked up his work after he passed away a few years ago. I've always wanted to be like him. I have been looking at that image – the one I gave you – for over ten years now, memorizing every detail while studying any ancient texts I can get my hands on. When I saw you, my brain just froze! I thought I was seeing that photograph come alive – literally! I should have asked you first about what you might know before jumping to conclusions that you might have all the answers..."

This last statement was enough for Kida to realize that she and Milo were exactly alike. Both of them have been chasing the same myth, searching for the same answers to the same questions, reaching for the same Atlantis that neither of them knew for sure was even a real place. Seeing Milo embarrassed with his head in his hands softened her demeanor and she rested her injured hand upon his. "I'm sorry Milo...I jumped to conclusions too. Now I see that we both are after the same thing" She patted his hand softly and continued "If I have not scared you away, I would love to help you with your research. I have some questions of my own that you might be able to help me with."

With that, he took her hand in his and shook it once more. "It will be a pleasure to try to answer your questions, Kida. I'm sorry for bringing up such a sensitive subject. From now on I will make the effort to be more cautious in my approach"

She gave him a weak smile. "That won't be necessary. We won't get anywhere without a little bit of grit under our fingernails. This is dirty business, archaeology. I'm sure we will be more help to one another than trouble." She scribbled down her email on a stray sheet of paper. "Let me know when you are in the lab. I will send you my schedule and we can work out regular times to meet."

The young man smiled back at her, folding the paper with her email and placing it into his shirt pocket. "You have no idea how much this means to me Kida...I'm sure we will make a great team."

"I'm sure we will Milo. Keep me updated." She waved at him as she exited the lab, still processing everything that had happened on such a strange day.

* * *

_Author's Note:  
First of all, thank you very much for the reviews! They keep me going ^_^ An extra thank you to __**Solaria daughter of Apollo**__for requesting Kida for the next chapter. __Hope you all enjoyed this one. It was a bit longer than I had intended, but I just couldn't stop writing. I really enjoyed how this chapter came together and I hope from a reader's perspective it was executed properly. _

_Please keep the reviews flowing! If you have any spelling or grammar comments, please send me a PM and I will promptly edit those. Suggestions, criticisms and praise are all equally appreciated. This is for you as much as it is for me and I would hate to disappoint. =]_

_Lastly, I will return everyone's PM's soon! I've been focused on getting this chapter finished that I have hardly been online to respond! I promise that I will get back to all of you soon though. _

_-Suzerenma_


	6. (6) Week Three, Thursday: Esmeralda

**Chapter 6 - Week Three: Thursday – Outcasts**

Kida concentrated on walking into the room as quietly as possible, certain that the other students would bombard her with questions regarding her flee from the last session. She waited a few extra minutes after the other students had congregated in their seats to stealthily tiptoe her way in, careful to not make a sound. While she wanted to avoid the discomfort of being put in the spot light, she knew it was only fair to give an explanation for her peculiar actions. To her credit, she had done an incredible amount of work in the days prior, just sorting her emotions into reasonable compartments in her mind. Still, she wasn't entirely confident in her knowledge to truly feel comfortable discussing it.

To her surprise, the other students greeted her warmly as they always did without any mention of Monday's embarrassing incident. Immediately Kida suspected that Meg had silenced them early on given that she was the only person who had the slightest idea about Kida's situation – granted, she too did not know the full extent, but she was respectful of Kida's boundaries and comfort zone knowing full well that it must have been a painful enough subject to cause a stable and secure person like Kida to run away.

The blue-eyed woman cleared her throat after greeting and exchanging a few words of small talk with everyone. Her hands were shaking and she felt the impulse to run again. Meg's arm brushed hers softly, causing Kida to turn and look at at her friend who gave her a supportive nod, and urged her to speak. Kida managed to stammer a few words "I'm sorry for disrupting the meeting on Monday."

Jane smiled. "There is no reason to apologize, dear. We all have a complex story to tell and sometimes those stories can be very difficult to share, or even acknowledge. I'm proud of you and pleased that you still want to join us."

Kida suddenly became aware of how tense she held her posture and sighed as she slumped further into her seat between Meg and Esmeralda. "I am still learning and figuring it all out. When I have everything sorted, you all will be among the first people I tell."

"You do not have to feel pressured to do anything in this space. We are a small community and we have to build up trust." Esmeralda piped up.

Jane was pleased to hear one of her students reiterate the purpose of her group. She silently wished that Mary had been there to applaud the work that had been taking place in the past three weeks. In order to sustain this progress, she clung on to the conversation and encouraged Esmeralda to continue.

"Esmeralda, I am glad you mention this because I have really been wanting to hear from you for some time now. Why don't you begin today by telling us what it means for you to be French?"

Belle laughed. This time she was going to poke fun back to her roommate in revenge for being pushed to talk about her time with Adam. "Jane, you must not be serious. Esmeralda doesn't know the first thing about being French." Apparently, Belle wasn't aware that her joke might not be taken so well...

Immediately, Jane's internal warning alarm alerted her to the danger of the following conversation. She was about interrupt but it was too late...

The green eyed beauty narrowed her eyes. "What makes you say that Belle?" She demanded. "I was born in Paris and I have lived in Paris my entire life. My passport indicates that my nationality is _French._ The language that I speak is _French_. My citizenship is _French_. My _culture_, is _French._" Esmeralda's voice was rising in anger. "And how dare you even suggest such a thing?"

Belle was stunned by Esmeralda's response. She had no idea that her jesting would hit a nerve in her friend. Instead of apologizing and correcting her poor judgment, the stubborn young woman quickly jumped on the defensive. Her shoulders stiffened as she straightened her back to better look at her roommate. "I am _native_ to France. Unlike you, my family has been in our village for hundreds of years, making _us_ the_ real _French people." She paused to look her friend right in the eye. "You're just a gypsy."

Esmeralda began to fume. Her blood boiled listening to Belle's outright discrimination of her people. Though she was used to this attitude, often receiving negative glances from fellow Parisians due to her skin color, the comments still stung, especially from her friend who she had grown quite close to. True, she too wondered before if she could even be considered French given that ethnically her blood was Romani-Gypsy and her ancestry only has a small stronghold to French land. Still, she only knew a life in France and Paris had always been her home.

Belle instantly regretted her words, shaking her head as her eyes widened and her heart pounded. She went too far and she knew it. "Esmeralda, I..."

"Save it Belle!" Esmeralda shouted, standing abruptly from her chair. With tears welling up in her eyes, she grabbed her bag and ran from the room, hardly hearing Jane calling her name behind her.

"That's twice in one week a student has ran out of the session..." Jane muttered under her breath.

* * *

The young emerald-eyed woman continued running until she reached the center park of the university where she collapsed into a bench underneath a willow tree. She shivered at the unexpected cold snap that had infiltrated the atmosphere the past few days. To remedy this, she reached into her book bag in search of sweater only to realize that she had left it in the seminar room. Esmeralda swore quietly and punched her bag away from her before breathing a sigh.

She looked up at the gray sky and silently wished to be back in Paris. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose, half expecting to breathe a whiff of the Parisian bakeries she was so accustomed to. Instead, she only managed to breathe in more cold air causing her to choke as the chill ran down her throat. In frustration, she snarled up at the English sky.

At the sound of music in the distance, Esmeralda's head perked up. She was briefly reminded of the frequent street festivals in Paris with cheerful music and exciting costumes. With nothing to lose, she began walking toward the source, growing more hopeful with each step she took. On the way, she found herself gliding through the university gardens of yellow-streaked trees – a part of campus she had never been before or even heard of. The garden was so empty that the only sounds were her own footsteps amidst the rustling leaves and distant music. Again she was reminded of Paris and the garden near the Natural History Museum – one of her favorite places in the city to escape.

A wave of calm instantly rushed over the young woman. At least there was one place on campus that could make her feel somewhat at home. She decided to soak in the feeling as long as she could, so she sat at the edge of a small pond and gazed over the still water and allowed herself to fully immerse into the peace of the garden. Just then, the sound of footsteps approached behind her, startling her out of her daydreams. The music she heard from the distance was suddenly very near.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." A voice said behind her. She turned to look up at the speaker, surprised to see a stout young man with a hunchback, carrying an MP3 players attached to a small set of speakers. He hurriedly pressed the off button and the music stopped completely. The man flinched when Esmeralda's eyes met his and he instantly shielded his eyes. "Please, don't be alarmed...I'm not used to seeing people in here. I...didn't expect anyone to hear...my music." He breathed, trying to piece together some words into a coherent sentence; a difficult challenge while his heart was nearly beating out of his chest.

Esmeralda showed no sign of fear, disgust or irritation - just recognition that someone else was in the garden with her. He seemed surprised by her reaction, or lack there of. She smiled up at him, "Don't worry about it. I was just enjoying the scenery. This park is absolutely beautiful..."

The young man pointed to the rock to her side "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, please do! I could really use some company about now." She paused and bit her lip as she recalled the pain she felt not just an hour before. "What's your name?"

He didn't answer right away, instead he looked down at his mud-caked shoes and quietly muttered "Quasimodo..." under his breath. At first, Esmeralda assumed she heard incorrectly or that he was joking. When he didn't show any sign of revealing a punch line, her eyes widened in surprise that any parents would be so cruel.

"That's a Latin-French name isn't it? Almost...human?" She asked him, cautious to not hit a nerve. He nodded sadly and twiddled his thumbs.

"I never had what one would call a 'childhood'..." He admitted. "Actually, I've lived in the university my entire life, tending this very garden." His arms spread out wide as he presented what Esmeralda took to be a masterpiece of gardening.

"Wait...You made this garden?"

Quasimodo shrugged. "It was just pile of shrubs before. The maintenance manager at the university took me in as a boy and trained me to keep up the place. Eventually, after he passed away and the university hired more attendants, I had more time to perfect the skill. I've just never stopped." He paused to look Esmeralda in the eye and grinned wryly. "This garden is the one thing in my life I can really be proud of."

Esmeralda was absolutely astounded. As she admired the artful placement of the trees, the bushes, terraces of jasmine flowers and the pond, she was surprised to find that it was all the work of just one person. "You even built the lake on your own?"

The young man laughed loudly. "I dug the hole yes, but you can thank the clouds for the water. I was fortunate enough to begin that work at the start of a series of rainstorms!"

She giggled at the thought of him scrambling to dig a hole in the middle of a storm."Well Quasimodo, you certainly have a gift. A gift I rather admire." The emerald-eyed beauty extended her hand. "My name is Esmeralda. I'm an international student from France."

Quasimodo blushed as his hand brushed hers in a handshake. "And I'm the gardener."

"Esmeralda!" A voice suddenly called out, causing Esmeralda to abruptly turn her head in the direction of the name caller. In an instant, Rapunzel's long hair came bounding toward her and enveloped her in a great bear hug. "I'm so glad to see you!" The cheerful young girl said.

"What are you doing here?" Esmeralda asked, puzzled that someone else had wandered into the otherwise empty garden.

"I should ask you the same questions. I'm here with some members of the fencing team. We needed a space to practice." Just as she spoke, three university age men emerged from the winding path Rapunzel had ran from.

Esmeralda nodded. "I see, I see. I forgot that you did fencing. I was just looking for a quiet place to think when I started talking to..." She turned around to gesture to Quasimodo. "Hey, where did he go?" She wondered, noting that he was no longer there.

Rapunzel was puzzled. "Where did who go? Are you alright dear?"

Esmeralda squinted her eyes and scanned the surrounding area. The peculiar young man was nowhere to be found. "I wonder where he went..." she mused to herself and shook her head. "Well, care to introduce me to your friends?" she asked, glancing at the trio of well-toned, yet awkward young men.

Rapunzel gleamed. "Absolutely!" She first pointed to the stern man with a black pony tail "That's Shang, he's the coach" He nodded his greeting. "And this is Flynn...He's sort of my private tutor" She blushed as she pointed to the smirking, younger looking man with a goatee. "And lastly, this is Phoebus. He's one of the senior team members." She gestured to a tall, muscular man with shoulder length blonde hair.

Esmeralda was particularly intrigued with this last man, who wasn't as rigid as Shang in stature, or as mischievous as Flynn, but seemed to possess his own charm that the young woman couldn't place. Esmeralda gazed at the man questioningly as Rapunzel continued to speak. "So, fencing team, this is Esmeralda, my friend from the International Student group I was telling you all about."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The man with blonde hair, Phoebus said as he took Esmeralda's hand in his own and kissed the top lightly. She was expecting a simple handshake, so she was quite surprised, even a bit insulted. "Really? You're going to give me the gentleman's introduction?"

Phoebus was taken aback. "I can assure you that I've meant no harm in my actions and I offer my apologies." He explained, taking a quick bow. "I introduce myself to all fine ladies, such as yourself, in this manner."

Flynn snorted. Up until that last comment he had been leaning against a tree examining the dirt under his fingernails. "He's messing with you Esme – can I call you Esme? - he really isn't like this with many 'fine ladies.'" He emphasized with air quotes.

Phoebus shot his fencing partner a glare and sighed. "So I'm trying a new approach, judge me at your own desire Rider." Then he turned to Esmeralda again. "Alright, let's start over without the facade maybe? My name is Phoebus, it really is nice to meet you. Rapunzel talks about this student group as though it were her entire life, and it's obvious she thinks highly of all of you."

Esmeralda nodded in approval, an eyebrow raised in unison with the corner of her mouth. "First of all, no _Flynn_, you may not call me Esme. Secondly, Phoebus, I accept your introduction and your apology." She curtsied in response, a teasing smile emerging more as she looked up at him from her bow. "Let's see if you are as great of a fencer as you say you are – if you succeed in impressing me, you may kindly escort me back to my flat."

"Absolutely, young miss! I will escort you at your heart's leisure." Phoebus announced, returning Esmeralda's teasing grin. Flynn took this opportunity to cut in between the two, arms extended between them.

"Alright alright guys, we get it. Can we get to the sparring already?" He exclaimed, already drawing his sword in preparation for the duel. Rapunzel interrupted his motions and shoved him out of the way. Shang, who had remained fairly quiet through the bulk of introductions nodded in approval at his newest student's initiation.

"Not so fast Rider, I'm taking control of this fight. Esmeralda is MY friend and I'M going to impress her." The young girl drew her sword and lowered her helmet, mumbling to Phoebus just loud enough for everyone to hear "I'm ready when you are, _Blondie."_

Her opponent shrugged his shoulders and glanced at his coach. After Shang waved him gently in approval, he lowered his own helmet as he drew his sword and countered. "Touche, _Blondie_."

Esmeralda sat down neatly on a rock by the lake as she watched the spar. A dejected Flynn slumped down beside her. "But _I_ wanted to fight him..."

The young woman giggled. "Why do I get the feeling it isn't me you want to impress?" She winked and nodded her head toward the dueling blondes.

He exhaled sharply and allowed a small smile to play on his lips. He didn't look at her and instead continued to gaze at Rapunzel and Phoebus who were quickly gaining ferocity in their movements. Though Flynn didn't verbally confirm or deny her assumptions, Esmeralda already knew the answer.

As she sat and glossed over the blooming love affair between the goateed young man and her friend, she began to wonder if she too would experience a romance...or at least a friendship with someone during her stay at the university. Instantly her mind reverted back to the kind and peculiar red-haired young man she met just moments before, whose mysterious disappearance made her question his entire existence. Was Quasimodo really there, or did she just conjure the idea of him out of her loneliness? He was the first person she felt she could really relate to; an outcast in a world where everyone is expected to form bonds with one another.

Her mind returned to her current company; to Flynn beside her, gleaming at his teammates, to the coach Shang (who remained near his students while taking notes and shouting commands), to Rapunzel, an unlikely but welcome friend, and Phoebus, the handsome young man she could not keep her eyes off of. As she watched his fluid movements she couldn't help but begin to take an interest. There was no doubt that she was impressed; not necessarily by his fencing skills as Rapunzel was an equal opponent, but by his charm and his ability to mold his image into her brain.

Esmeralda's mind was still on Quasimodo and whether or not he was a figment of her imagination. Since she couldn't find any evidence of him having been there at all (other than the beautiful garden itself) she resigned herself to the notion that there was no Quasimodo, and that he was simply a reflection of her insecurities. Still, her current focus on Phoebus was so intense that she was completely oblivious to the rustling bushes behind the fencers, otherwise she would have caught a small glimpse of red hair peaking out from behind the branches...

* * *

_Author's Note:  
So sorry for the long delay! My own classes have started and I'm a lot busier than I thought I would be. Still, I refuse to abandon this story – I am far too invested in this. Forgot to mention in the last chapter's AN that Kida's broken finger was based on true events – I really did break my finger...Haha oh boy...Yeah, I did just share that with the world._

_Anyway, keep up the wonderful reviews and messages! I love hearing from all of you – new and old reviewers alike! I promise that I will do my best to keep up with all of your stories and messages. I can't guarantee a review for every new chapter or even a response to PM's in a timely manner (I'm sorry _) but I will do my best 3_

_Love you all!_

_-Suzerenma_


	7. (7) Week Four, Monday: Pocahontas

**Chapter 7 - Week Four: Monday – Unity**

It was a long discussion before Belle and Esmeralda worked out their issues with one another. The bulk of the meeting time was spent supporting the two French women in communicating their feelings to each other. There were many tears of exasperation from both ends. Belle would attempt to keep calm while she apologized endlessly, yet all Esmeralda could hear were the cold words that stung just four days ago.

"Esmeralda, please come back and be my roommate again. I truly never meant anything that I said, I just..." Belle sputtered as she allowed a few tears to spill down her face.

"You just _what?_" Esmeralda's cold eyes, also fighting back tears as she spat her question. "How could you even retract such a statement? '_You're just a gypsy'_ Who would say something so cruel and then all of a sudden not even mean it?"

"Really, I didn't. I never could have dreamed that I would have any discriminatory bone in my body. I was joking and then I was in the spotlight." Belle tried to explain but it was no use. "I just...let myself be on the defensive and those words fell out."

"Fell out? Those words, fell out? Words do not fall out of anywhere Belle! If you did not intend to say these things, you would not have said them." She roared, her voice rising. Tiana who was just a few seats away lightly grabbed onto Esmeralda's arm to steady her.

"Esmeralda please, let's try to keep this civil alright? Trust me, I know all about discrimination and I know how hard it is to hold your anger back but you must try – we 're family here." The young New Orlean stated, earnestly looking around the room at the familiar faces. "We can't be making enemies out of each other."

There was something soothing about Tiana's voice that immediately made everyone relax. Esmeralda's face softened and she looked Belle in the eye. As much was she wanted to believe that her friend was sincere in her apology, those words still haunted her and she couldn't erase the pain. Looking at Belle's mouth agape in horror with tears streaming down her face, Esmeralda couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. As if on cue, Belle spoke up.

"I grew up in a small village where appearances mean everything. Beauty has always been held above any other human quality, most notably intelligence." She paused to collect her thoughts, recollecting on the many weird stares she received for choosing to read books instead of chase boys like her peers. "As much as I hate to admit it, these values start to seep in the longer you're exposed to them."

Esmeralda gave her roommate a tilted smile. "I understand what you mean. As someone often on the receiving end of this judgment, I know full well how impossible it is to escape. I grew up looking at myself in the mirror the same way everyone else saw me."

"That's still no excuse for m-" Belle interjected.

"No it isn't." The other woman interrupted. "And it will take a while for me to fully be able to forgive you. Tiana's right though: we are family and oftentimes families have different values and different ways of experiencing the world. I truly believe that you meant no harm, but you must then understand the damage those words had."

Belle nodded sadly. "Of course I understand. I hardly can forgive myself...does this mean that you will permanently be moving in with Anastasia and Rapunzel?"

Although she tried not to, Esmeralda gave out a hearty laugh. "Not at all! If we're going to resolve this we're going to do it the right way. Plus, I doubt those two want me sleeping on their floor much longer – it's crowded enough with Rapunzel's hair as it is."

Rapunzel looked up in defense as Esmeralda extended her hand to Belle. "Friends?"

Belle enclosed Esmeralda's hand in both of her own. "Friends." She replied quietly.

As the conflict began to settle and the room became less of a war zone, the group found very little to say. Amidst the silence, Mulan decided to speak up. "Hey Tiana? Where's your roommate?"

Suddenly everyone was aware that Pocahontas was missing. There was so much focus on the tension between Belle and Esmeralda that Jane had completely overlooked that one of the group members had not shown up. Her eyes lit up in alarm. "Is she alright?"

Tiana casually waved her hand at the group. "Of course she's fine, she just stayed up late last night studying and wanted to sleep a little late. Though she was supposed to have been her by now, I'm sure she's still in the room resting."

* * *

Meanwhile, Pocahontas lay in her bed quietly staring at her laptop monitor on the desk beside her. She hadn't slept at all and her eyes were puffy and red with exhaustion. Though she told Tiana that she was merely overtired from classwork, she couldn't hide the truth from herself as much as she wanted to. She pulled the covers over her shoulders and wrapped her arms around her knees. All she wanted was to be home where her family could comfort and protect her, where her friends could convince her that she was just having a nightmare and that everything would go back to normal, where Nakoma's bright smile would reassure her that everything was still alright.

She knew this was impossible. Not because she signed a contract with the university or that she couldn't afford a plane ticket. She knew that what she wanted was unattainable and unrealistic. Still, she couldn't get out of bed all day or even force herself to brush the morning breath out of her mouth. All she wanted was to sleep and forget that anything had happened at all. Right as she clamped her eyelids down in an effort to force sleep, she heard the cheery 'ding!' from her computer alerting her to a new and unread email.

Curiosity was enough of a drive for Pocahontas so she reopened her eyes and leaned over to the desk. Her thoughts were running about wildly and her heart was racing. "Please tell me this was all a joke..." she pleaded as she hesitantly moved the mouse to the 'New Mail' icon on her browser and clicked it open. Disappointment cascaded over her as she opened the email from John Smith, her long term pen-pal. "Not exactly what I was hoping for..." She sighed, yet still resigned herself to reading it anyway.

**_Dear Pocahontas,_**

**_ How have you been adjusting to life in London? I wanted to let you know that I'm back in town again. Norway was fantastic! I can't wait until I upload the photos to my computer and send them to you – I'm sure you will love them. Since we are finally in the same city at the same time (sorry again for the confusion when I came to America – I thought California was nearer to Virginia.) I was wondering if you wanted to meet for lunch soon? It would be great to finally meet you after all these years!_**

**_Let me know what you think._**

**_Best,_**

**_John Smith_**

That's right! John lives in London! Suddenly Pocahontas began to type out an email in response.

**_John,_**

**_I would love to meet. Are you free today? Would you like to stop by the University for a while? I'm feeling a bit under the weather so I would rather not go out for very long today. Please call the International Student Housing and ask to be connected to my room – there is only one Pocahontas here so there shouldn't be any confusion._**

**_-Pocahontas._**

She didn't have to wait long until her bedside phone started ringing. "John?" She asked as she picked up the phone. Relieved that it was him on the other line, she quickly gave him directions to her flat as well as the fasted Tube route to get there. "See you in 30 minutes then!"

The young American contemplated going back to bed to at least try and get some sleep but the moment she thought of her bed, she was reminded yet again of her depression. It seemed as though it were no use trying to feel better, it had only been about six hours since she discovered the bad news and she couldn't be asked to suddenly feel radiant again. Still, she remembered that she had company coming over and she didn't want to make a bad (in face) impression of herself so she tried to make herself more presentable by brushing the knots out of her hair and styling her hair into a single, long thick braid.

Once she finished braiding, she looked in the mirror and shook her head. "No no, too cliche." So she took the braid out and let her fair fall over her shoulders instead. Still, something seemed wrong so she walked over to her accessories bag and pulled out her most treasured possession: her mother's necklace. It had always comforted the young woman in times of crisis making it a very appropriate accompaniment. Before she placed it around her neck, she knelt on the floor for a few minutes and simply held the necklace tightly, thinking once again to how much she missed her mother and Nakoma.

As she was nearly falling back into her slump, she heard a sharp knock on the door. Pocahontas shuffled off the floor and walked over to the door to peer through the peep hole. The man standing on the other side of the door was very handsome by her standards, even more so than when they recently video chatted. The John Smith standing at the door had taken on a more rugged appearance since their last conversation. She opened the door at once and greeted the young man with a smile. His white teeth glistened back at her as he extended a hand in introduction. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Pocahontas."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too John. Please, come inside and make yourself at home. Would you like me to make you some tea?" She asked, already walking over to the microwave at the kitchenette.

"No thank you." He replied and took a seat on the couch while Pocahontas made herself a cup of green tea.

"So, tell me about Norway!" She exclaimed as she placed the mug of water in the microwave.

"It was phenomenal! There was adventure looming at every mountain edge." He gleamed. "I would like to go back again sometime soon and take a cruise down a fjord – you might like that too from what I gather."

When the water had finished heating, Pocahontas placed a bag of tea into the mug and walked over to the couch to sit next to John. "I would love to see the fjords. I doubt they could be anything short of magnificent. You're such an admirable person, John. I wish I could be like you."

"Why do you say that?" He furrowed his brows together.

"Just how you're able to take off and see the world whenever you can. I wish there was some way I could do the same." She admitted while glancing at her steaming teacup, still too hot to drink.

"Hmm...I think I know what you mean. Though I can tell you one thing, your field of study will grant you that wish one day. You'll be working while you travel, but hey, you'll be traveling while you work."

"I guess so..." the young woman muttered.

"Plus, you're already jet-setting across the world. Look, you're already in London!" He added.

"True..." She mumbled.

John's tone of voice shifted to a note of concern. "Pocahontas, I know we just now met in person, but I've known you for some time now and I think I can tell when you're feeling a little off. Something tells me that you're not just 'under the weather."

When she finally looked back up at him after several long moments of silence, she had tears forming in her eyes. "Nakoma's dead, John."

This took him by surprise. "Wait, what? What do you mean?" He stammered.

Pocahontas couldn't keep the tears locked up any more and finally allowed the hours of pain to flow out. Her sobs were loud and filled with grief. John instinctively took her into his arms and stroked her hair as she cried into his chest. "I just feel so alone now...she was my best friend." she gasped in between sobs.

He held her tighter as she began to convulse. "My dear, I'm so sorry to see you like this...Please, keep talking to me, tell me what happened and don't keep this bottled up anymore. When did you find out?"

"This morning. Kokoum sent me an email last night saying that she had drowned. I only saw it in the morning as I always check my email when I wake up." she responded, trying to keep her words steady.

"How on earth did she drown?" John asked.

"She didn't know how to swim! She was so stupid when we were in high school and she cheated out of taking the mandatory swim test by giving the counselor a doctor's note." She spat angrily, remembering her friend's defiance over learning how to swim. "All because she was too shy to be seen in a bathing suit!"

"Th-that is unfortunate. Was she in a situation where it could have been prevented?"

"Of course – she went to the lake with Kokoum and he decided to go for a swim around the lake while she waited on the shore. When he got back, she was face down in the water, dead." Saying the word caused another wave of grief to wash over her yet she didn't have the energy to cry anymore so she just leaned against John for support. "Please tell me that this is all a dream..."

"I wish I could...I'm so sorry you have to go through this. You don't have to go through it alone though – I'll be here as long as you want me to be."

She tilted her head up to him. "I know this is a lot to ask, but would you mind staying until Tiana gets back from classes? I really don't want to be alone right now."

"Of course, I wouldn't mind that at all." He said soothingly, assuring her that he would stay as long as she wanted him to.

"Thank you John. You're a good friend." She mumbled softly as she allowed her body to relax. John continued to stroke her hair and she slowly fell to sleep against him. He figured that she would wake up uncomfortably if she stayed on the couch, so he took the tea cup out of her hand (still full and untouched) and placed it on the coffee table in front of the TV. Then he picked her up and carried her to her bed.

0-0-0

For nearly six hours Pocahontas slept and John stayed by her side. Though it wasn't his idea of how their first meeting would pan out, he was glad to have been there during her time of need. It was obvious to him that she needed some rest which she wouldn't allow herself to do alone. Since they became pen pals ten years prior, he had always known her to be independent and stubborn. He wasn't used to her showing sadness or pain. Though she would express anger, it would only stem from injustices done to others, never about anything that affected her only.

He never knew Nakoma, but he knew how close the two girls had been. Once she was there while he and Pocahontas were video chatting, but their conversation was no more than simple greetings. Still, thinking about the death of a young person was enough to make him uneasy, especially since she was so close to one of his dearest friends. John knew that it would take a long time for Pocahontas to fully heal and allow herself to build up trust with new people.

John paced around the room looking for ways to keep busy. He avoided the computer in fear of discovering the dreaded email detailing Nakoma's tragic death and he avoided the TV in fear of hearing about a global disaster. So, he decided to flip through a few of Pocahontas's school books: mostly environmentally related, some sociology and anthropology – his specialties. He also found a book in beginning Arabic dedicated entirely to learning the alphabet. "When did she decide to learn Arabic?" he muttered to himself while he opened what he thought was the first page. When he found the glossary he rolled his eyes "Oh right, Arabic is read from right to left..."

Before John could really begin to study the language, he heard a key unlocking the door. A young woman opened the door and stepped inside. "Pocahontas, are you feeling alright?" She called out when she saw her friend lying in bed. She hadn't even noticed John until he shushed her to keep her voice down. At first she was startled and figured he was some sort of intruder – after all, Pocahontas had never told her she was inviting any guests over. "And who might you be?" She demanded.

"My name is John Smith. I'm a long standing friend of Pocahontas. I am guessing you are her roommate Tiana?"

"Yeah okay, well how does that explain you being here and her being asleep?" Tiana was still unconvinced that he should be trusted.

"She had a really rough day...she found out this morning that her childhood best friend has passed away and she asked me to keep her company." John explained, sadness seeping through his voice.

At this news, Tiana nodded and accepted John's presence in the room. "I see...She didn't tell me that. She just told me she wasn't feeling well so I left her alone for the day to rest. If I'd known, I would've stayed. Gosh, I feel terrible now." She shook her head and dropped her bag on the ground by the door.

John got up off the couch and approached Tiana. "It's alright, she didn't tell me right away either. She told me the same thing, that she was under the weather. There's no need to feel bad about giving her space. Trust me, I know how cryptic she can be, I've known her for ten years!"

"Ten years huh? That is a long time. How do you guys know each other anyway? Pen pals right? I do vaguely remember her telling me that she wanted to meet up with you at some point while she's here. Were you the one who was just in Norway?"

He nodded. "Yes, I just got back yesterday. Maybe when Pocahontas wakes up I can show you both my photo slide slow. How does that sound?"

Tiana grinned. "I like that idea. It'll be good to keep her mind on positive things right now." She paused and bit her lip. "Thank you for being here by the way. I was suspecting that something was wrong but I didn't want to push it."

"Well it's no problem of mine. I was glad to help, really."

Suddenly, Tiana thought of an idea. "Hey John? Would you mind hanging out here for a couple more hours? I need to take care of a few things. I'll be back before it gets too late though."

John shrugged in response. "Of course, take all the time you need. I don't want to leave before she wakes up and I doubt she'll be awake any time soon."

"Great! Thank you again for doing this. You'll understand when I get back,"

0-0-0

Two hours later, John had taught himself the Arabic alphabet and a few basic words. Pocahontas began to stir in her sleep and John was beginning to wonder where Tiana had gone. Right as he closed the book to check the time, Tiana came in and slammed the door behind her, abruptly waking Pocahontas from her slumber. "I'm sorry sweetie! I didn't mean to wake you! I have something to show you though."

"What's going on?" John asked.

Tiana smiled. "You'll see when you step outside. Go ahead now, I'll help Pocahontas out."

While John stepped outside of the apartment, Tiana rushed over to Pocahontas's side and took her hand. "Sweetie, I know you're tired right now and I know you want to rest some more." The sleepy young woman tried to protest that she was awake but she couldn't find the words. "John told me about Nakoma...I'm so sorry dear...I have something for you though, but you have to come outside to see it." Tiana prompted, tugging on Pocahontas's arm.

"But I'm in my sleeping clothes..." She mumbled quietly, looking down at her shorts and tank top.

"Don't you worry about that. I'm not taking you to a beauty contest. Just come outside with me."

So Tiana led Pocahontas out of the apartment, down the flight of stairs and out into the courtyard. There they found John standing in front of an unbelievable sight.

Right in front of the apartment complex stood all of the International Students in the group as well as a couple of unfamiliar faces, all holding candles. Pocahontas looked over at his friends: Jasmine, Meg, Belle, Esmeralda, Rapunzel, Mulan...everyone was there. She was so touched that she couldn't even find the words to describe how she was feeling. She turned to Tiana and asked her "So...you put this all together tonight? For me?"

Tiana nodded as she handed Pocahontas a candle to hold. "For you. I made sure I gathered everyone to support you in this. There's no reason for you to be alone."

Pocahontas had tears in her eyes once more, but this time not out of sadness, but in gratitude. She couldn't find the right words but she squeezed Tiana's hand in acknowledgment. John then walked up to the other side of Pocahontas and placed his arm around her shoulders. Having all of her friends, new and old, light a candle for Nakoma was more than she could ever have asked for. One by one they all hugged her and and said a word of condolences. Perhaps the year was not going to be impossible and perhaps things will start to work themselves out. Pocahontas only wished for Nakoma to be with her, by her side. In her heart she knew that her best friend was keeping her close and that her spirit would live on.

"Rest peacefully Nakoma..."

* * *

_Author's Note:  
__**Dedicated To C.H. (1991-2012) – I am missing you every day. **_

_This chapter was based on real events in my life. I actually did just lose a close friend last week, and we really did hold a candlelight vigil for her as well. Like Pocahontas and Nakoma, I had known my friend since we were in kindergarten and we grew up together so the loss has been quite unbearable. Writing this chapter has been very helpful in the grieving process actually, though I'm a little nervous to share it with everyone – I hope it is well received. I know the chapter is longer than usual, and not __much focus had been placed on Pocahontas's thoughts or actions, but it was a chapter I felt needed to happen anyway. By the seventh chapter I really wanted to depict the unity the characters have experienced over the past few weeks, and how even in crisis, that unity is strong enough to keep them together. _

_Thank you again for your wonderful reviews! I hope I continue to live up to your expectations =]_

_Also, although I don't like the use of bold in the story, I tried formatting the emails so that they would be distinct from the other text but that didn't work out so well. So sadly, I had to use the bold. Hope that doesn't make everything too distracting! Let me know.  
_

_-Suzerenma_


	8. (8) Week Four, Thursday: Ariel

**Chapter 8 - Week Four: Thursday – Problematic**

Much to the surprise of her classmates, Pocahontas returned immediately to the group sessions. She held herself upright and otherwise seemed back to her normal self when not taking into account her puffy, red-rimmed eyes. Even still, she was smiling and it was obvious she was relieved to return to some sense of normalcy. While she appreciated the support of her friends who have more than proven themselves to be dependable and trustworthy, she still was not at all at ease by the attention she received. In her own mind, she was capable of handling her grief on her own, but to the public, she was barely holding herself together as evidenced by Tiana's constant presence.

In fact, for the past few days, the only place Pocahontas could go without Tiana following her trail was the restroom. "I just want to make sure you're OK!" Tiana would reason, forcing Pocahontas to take longer showers than normal just for a few moments of quiet with her own thoughts. On this particular morning, the two young women walked in together and sat side by side as usual. Tiana quickly engaged in conversation with Belle who was still reading her Mark Twain book. Pocahontas gazed about the room in search of an outlet to have her first quiet moment of the day. At once she noticed Ariel sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, trying to sort papers before the rest of the students arrived. Pocahontas took note that the session wouldn't begin for another ten minutes, and gracefully shuffled over to Ariel. Even though she knew Ariel would be likely to chat, she figured that organizing papers would be a mundane activity enough to drown her thoughts into.

"Hi Ariel, can I help you with any of this?" She asked as she knelt beside the young redhead who was obviously frazzled by her current project. To Pocahontas' surprise, Ariel hardly looked up at her, and only continued glancing between various papers.

"Oh, hi Pocahontas. It's good to see you back so soon" She murmured.

"I needed to get out of my room and return to real life." Pocahontas responded, biting down slightly on her bottom lip.

"Ahh yes, yes. That makes a lot of sense..." Ariel trailed off, hardly concentrating at all on the conversation. "Oh my goodness, how am I ever going to finish this? The printer in the lounge stopped working and I need to turn this in today" She dropped her papers back onto the floor and vigorously began tugging on her hair in frustration.

Pocahontas picked up the fallen papers and examined them closely. Indeed, the pages were completely out of order, with the top sheet indicating it was from page five of the document. It caught her a bit off guard to see some charts and diagrams relating to marine geology. So she quietly began sorting, picking up various combinations of papers and placing each subsequent sheet into a new pile. Ariel looked up from her hands and marveled at how quickly the other girl was working.

"This really does calm you down doesn't it?" Ariel asked, mimicking the other girl's motions.

Pocahontas looked up at Ariel and nodded. "It does. Usually I can't stand mundane and routine activities, but right now it's the only way I can keep my head in order. The act of sorting these papers seems to help me sort my own thoughts."

"I see. Yes, I can understand that. I hate orderly things. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing. I really didn't expect this much work before I came here and I'm so overwhelmed by everything that I can't even organize my own life." Ariel trailed off again before catching herself. "Not to undermine what you are going through of course! I cannot possible imagine how that must feel..." With genuine sincerity she added, "I am truly sorry about your friend. I want you to know that I am here if you ever need or want anyone to talk to."

Pocahontas couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you. That really does mean a lot to me and I am sure in the near future I will want to take you up on that offer. Right now, the last thing I want to do is talk about it though." She paused. "Right now, between you and me, I think you need the talk more than I do."

Ariel groaned and closed her eyes. "You're right about that one...I just have no time! Not that many friends either." She reluctantly admitted.

"Well then make time. I'm sure you can spare an hour or so. Why don't you join me for tea this afternoon?" Pocahontas offered. "You'll have to tell Tiana though – she won't believe me if I tell her that I'm hanging out with someone. Neither she nor my friend John will leave me be alone for any length of time."

Ariel had to ponder for a few moments to decide if she wanted to give up her free hour. While she wanted nothing more than to vent with someone, she was unsure if she even wanted to share her problems with anyone, let alone someone who had just experienced a major tragedy. Still, the offer was tempting and she knew she needed to take a break from her work once in a while. Meanwhile, Pocahontas continued sorting the papers, rapidly forming an orderly organization out of the former jumble of loose sheets.

Finally the young girl spoke up. "Yeah, I would like that very much. Do you want to go to the lake as well before it closes for the season?"

Pocahontas had just finished sorting the papers and gently shook them into place. "Absolutely! I could really use a swim." She answered. "On one condition though."

"What?"

"You have to tell me about the water and the lifeforms it supports." The older girl grinned.

Ariel gaped at her. "You're joking. There's no way I can do that!"

"Yes you can. As earth science students, we have to relate our studies to the real world. The entire earth is our laboratory and it is so easily accessible, it makes the most amount of sense to utilize that."

"I don't know about that..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to quiz you or anything. I just want to help you learn so that it won't feel so overwhelming. I took a similar course last year and I too could use a brush up on some concepts."

"Will you help me?" Ariel pleaded, her blue eyes growing wide with anxiety at having to be put on the spot.

Pocahontas gaped in mock surprise. "Of course I will! I'll help you with anything. Science is best conducted with a partner or a team."

Finally Ariel relaxed. "I am so glad you are saying this, because I have been wanting to ask for your help with some assignments and labs but I felt too shy to say anything. I mean, you're an environmental student right? You already know some of these things."

"Well, I am very glad to help. It will be good for me as well to keep my mind off of Nakoma."

Ariel gritted her teeth, unsure of what to say. She had never lost anyone before so it was difficult to find the right words of consolation. Pocahontas sensed her discomfort.

"It's OK. You don't need to choose your words carefully or anything. I'm not easily offended." She offered. "Actually, in many ways you remind me of her. You're cautious but you have an adventurous spirit, and you have a will to learn and explore new territory."

The redhead sharply exhaled. "I just don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything then. Or you can say whatever is on your mind. Either way, I won't be bothered."

Before Ariel could respond, Jane announced her presence in the room.

"Good morning ladies! I'm so sorry I'm late and completely disorganized. That confounding device in the student lounge refused to print the way I wanted it to and instead decided to absolutely ruin my handouts for you all."

Pocahontas and Ariel started giggling from the corner they were sitting in. Then Ariel stood up and collected her papers, and smiled at her new friend. "I guess I'll see you later then?"

"Most definitely. I'll meet you at the Coffee Corner at noon!" Pocahontas replied. As she started walking back to her seat next to Tiana, she overheard Ariel offering her assistance to Jane with her paper sorting.

* * *

Ariel was completely lost during her marine geology lecture. She couldn't seem to understand anything about rocks or tectonic processes that shape the ocean floor. Re-reading her now well-sorted lab report, she began fidgeting with anxiety all over again, realizing that she had no idea what she had even written about. In an effort to distract herself from her nerves, she glanced about the lecture hall for any familiar faces. To her surprise, she saw Mulan a few rows down below.

After her earlier conversation with Pocahontas, she began to feel less shy about talking to people, especially if she had spent a significant amount of time with them. So she packed up her belongings and shuffled her way down the steps toward where Mulan was sitting. As she scooted her way through the row, passed the legs of other classmates, she noted that someone was already sitting next to Mulan – a young man with dark hair.

Mulan looked up and smiled at Ariel making her way over. She reached her arm out to gesture that there was an unoccupied seat on her other side. The redhead then crouched her way to Mulan's other side, climbing over the young man who Ariel thought to be her boyfriend.

"Hey! I didn't know you were in this class?" Ariel asked in a hushed whisper.

"I didn't know you were either! I'm so glad to finally have a friend in this class...I'm so lost."

Ariel was perplexed. Finally have friend in this class? She glanced to the dark-haired young man and Mulan eyes followed. "Oh, him. Ariel, this is my new friend Eric – he's lost too."

Eric reached out his hand for Ariel to shake, but she was too distracted by his blue eyes. "Your eyes remind me of the ocean...I love the ocean..." She breathed, nearly mesmerized.

He and Mulan were at first stunned and very perplexed, but then they began laughing loudly, causing the professor at the front podium to pause in her lecture and glance in their direction. The three students ducked behind the seats in front of them to try and hide their faces and thus their shame. Ariel's face was as red as a tomato, partially from the humiliation of disrupting the 300-person class, but mostly from completely making a fool out of herself in front of this handsome fellow she had just met.

"Of course you love the ocean, you're an oceanography major." Mulan whispered, still hiding behind the seat in front.

"Marine biology." Ariel corrected. "I want to study creatures, not rocks or currents."

Mulan giggled. "Now do you mean sea creatures, or do you mean male, blue eyed students studying sea creatures?"

Ariel blushed again and lightly shoved her friend in jest. "I'm not even going to answer that."

"What am I missing?" Eric asked, while simultaneously trying to take notes. "I mean, I'd love to really absorb this information so that I can actually do well on the next exam, but it seems you two ladies are involved in something a lot more interesting." He grinned directly at Ariel.

"We'll check blackboard later. Let's get out of here before we are exiled permanently." Mulan suggested, already rising from her position on the floor.

Ariel and Erick soon followed suit, hastily packing up their belongings and stealthy trying to exit without causing a scene. The professor still took note, and paused from her lecture again to watch them leave.

Once out of the lecture hall, the three students stood together in the bright, full-windowed hallway and exhaled sharply. Immediately they burst into laughter once again. "Did that seriously happen?" Mulan asked once she caught her breath.

"I guess so." Ariel answered. She brushed back a small lock of red hair behind her ear and bit her lip. "I'm not really used to cutting class or anything..." She admitted.

"I'm not either. This guy's a bad influence." Mulan said and pointed her thumb toward Eric. In response, he put his hands up in surrender.

"You caught me! I just wanted to get you guys in trouble."

"Well, we can at least go get something to eat."

The redhead was famished. She had missed breakfast due to her printer fiasco and needed to eat something soon. "I just have to meet Pocahontas at noon. She's going to help me with oceanography stuff."

"Do you think I can join you two? I'm struggling with the course work as well." Mulan asked.

"I'm sure she'd be fine with it! I'll text her in a bit to make sure though." Ariel pulled out her phone and began punching in numbers on the dial pad. Suddenly, in an ounce of bravery an idea occurred to her. "Hey Eric, do you think you might want to join as well? I know you don't know any of us or anything but our friend Pocahontas is really good in the earth sciences and you mentioned before that you are having a hard time with the material."

He genuinely looked disappointed and a half smile came turned up on his face. "I'd love to, it sounds like a good plan and everything but I have to meet my girlfriend for lunch."

Ariel could not hide her displeasure. Her face sunk and her brow furrowed in utter disappointment. She felt so mortified that she had even tried flirting with a man who had a girlfriend. Mulan was equally as shocked. "You have a girlfriend?"

Eric shrugged. "Yeah, we've been together for a couple years now. We went to secondary school together and decided we wanted to go to the same university as well. Her name is Vanessa."

"Well, don't you think you could have mentioned that sooner?" Mulan nudged his shoulder playfully. "I mean, we're best friends now right?"

He laughed slightly, feeling a bit relieved that the situation had not become too awkward. "Yeah, definitely best friends!" He turned his attention back to the other girl who was staring at her shoes. "And Ariel can be our third best friend!"

She looked up at him and tried to smile, but mostly failed. "And we're all going to have a ton of fun."

Mulan sensed her friend's discomfort. "Well Eric, I guess we will be seeing you same time next week? I need to get Ariel some food or I'm sure she's going to faint."

Eric nodded and grinned. "Alright, I'll see you later Mulan. Go on Skype later if you can and fill me in on the tutoring details." Then he turned to Ariel. "It was nice meeting you too."

"Likewise." She answered as she watched him turn and walk down the hall.

Mulan linked arms with Ariel and guided her in the opposite direction. "The Coffee Corner is a few minutes this way once we exit the building."

* * *

Once outside, the two young women walked together across campus. It was a beautiful day, though crisp and chilly. The sky was blue with only a few clouds making their way over head. Both girls had dressed warmly, with long black, buttoned coats, boots and scarves. Ariel's wool blue scarf was far better suited to Mulan's silk green one and she was far warmer than her companion. Mulan tried to hide her shivering but Ariel could even hear her teeth chattering through the breeze. Otherwise, the walk was fairly silent.

Ariel twice tried offering her scarf to her friend, but Mulan declined it both times. "I need to build up my tolerance to cold weather." She reasoned.

"Suit yourself." Ariel replied both times. After about five minutes of silence amongst the sound of Mulan's chattering teeth, Ariel decided to make conversation. "So...how long have you known Eric?"

At first, Mulan gave no response, then she took in a breath and slowly answered."Since the start of the term. We sat near each other and just started talking. Since then we've been chatting fairly regularly by text, Skype and Facebook." She paused, a touch of sadness in her voice. "I guess we just kind of hit it off."

"And you didn't know he had a girlfriend?"

"Nope. He didn't mention it once."

"Oh..." Ariel looked down at the ground, taking note that Mulan was making sure to step on every crunchy looking leaf that she passed, each time releasing a satisfying crunch. Ariel tried it doing the same, sometimes going out of her way for the right leaf. A smile started forming on her lips as she relaxed into her new found game.

"I know this is a personal question and we're not super close friends or anything." Ariel began, still watching the ground for leaves. "But before you found out Eric had a girlfriend, you liked him didn't you?"

Mulan was silent, focusing on her own leaf crunching while digesting the question. "I guess so." She finally responded.

"Oh." Ariel paused. "I could kind of tell."

"Even if he didn't have a girlfriend though, I never expected to start dating him or anything." Mulan added.

Ariel was confused. "How come? I thought when people liked each other they went out on dates and tried to form a relationship." She emphasized as she skipped upon a particularly large leaf.

Mulan laughed lightly. "For normal circumstances yes, that is true. I'm just not allowed to date white guys."

Ariel stopped in her tracks and looked directly at Mulan. "You mean to tell me that even if you fell in love with someone, your parents would forbid the relationship because of his race?"

Mulan shrugged. "It's a bit more complicated actually. It's not just that I can't date certain people. It's more along the lines that I only can date certain people."

"Not to sound stereotypical or anything, but would a certain acceptable person have to be smart, Chinese and successful?"

Mulan nodded.

"I see." Ariel continued. "To be completely honest, minus the Chinese specification, my family is the same way. He has to be a fisherman."

Mulan scrunched her nose in confusion. "Why a fisherman?"

"Remember? I grew up on the sea. So naturally, my family wants me to continue living at sea."

"Right, right. I'm sorry, I completely forgot."

The two then continued to walk in silence, still crunching leaves until they reached the Coffee Corner. Neither expected to see Pocahontas already inside, pouring over old marine geology textbooks, no doubt refreshing her mind on the subject. She looked up once she heard the bell on the door jingle and smiled at the two familiar faces.

"I didn't expect you here for at least another half hour. I haven't finished brushing up on my concepts just yet." Pocahontas guiltily admitted. "Hi Mulan, are you going to study with us as well?"

The other girl nodded and bit her bottom lip. "I hope you don't mind. Ariel and I just connected in class today and she invited me along."

"I texted you about it earlier, I hope you don't mind" Ariel piped up.

Pocahontas furrowed her brow and began to rummage through her bag. "Hmm...I didn't feel anything..." She muttered as she continued to search through her cluttered purse with no such luck at finding her cell phone. "Well, in any case, of course I don't mind! Is it alright if we just relax a bit beforehand though? I only started drinking my tea a few minutes ago and I like to keep tea time separate from work time." She giggled before taking a sip of her tea.

"Not at all!" The other two young women exclaimed at once.

"I'd prefer not to rush it anyway." Ariel said with a smile. "I'm going to freshen up now, so I'll be back in a few minutes." She added, already striding toward the restroom.

Once inside the washroom, Ariel locked the door behind her and took a deep breath. It had been a long morning and already an eventful afternoon. Truthfully, she wasn't used to socializing at all, or even people being nice to her for an extended period of time so it was quite a shock. No doubt she felt lonely and it showed in her tired appearance. Her bright red hair only accentuated the dark circles under her eyes, no matter how much makeup she applied.

"The result of too many sleepless nights I suppose." She sighed as she lightly dabbed concealer to the areas she deemed 'problematic.' Her best friend Flounder, as she fondly called him back home would certainly whine about her needless use for makeup no matter how much she tried to convince him that she wasn't the slightest bit satisfied with her appearance. As she peered at her reflection in the mirror, she already could list at least ten problems she would love to fix if given the chance, starting with the raccoon eyes and her predisposition for freckles across the bridge of her nose.

The more Ariel thought about her insecurity, the more she thought about how much she would love to have a boyfriend, and the more she thought about how much she would love to have a boyfriend, the more she thought about the handsome young man she had just met earlier in the day: Eric. Considering her complete lack of experience on land and therefore with non-familial members of the opposite sex, he was her first real 'crush,' and already she found it difficult to stop thinking about him. It bothered her even more knowing that Mulan had a similar attraction to him as well, discouraging her further from even pursing a friendship with him in case Mulan were to become jealous.

Ariel shook her head and frowned. "There's no point in thinking about it anyway..." She told herself allowed. "He has a girlfriend, and it would take more than a few layers of makeup to get him to like me..."

A knock on the restroom door shook Ariel out of her thoughts, causing her to flail her arms and knock her makeup bag and all its contents to the floors. "I'll be out in just a second!" She called out, hastily scooping her vanity material back into their proper places.

"Don't worry, I was just checking to see if you were alright in there." Pocahontas' soothing voice came from the other side of the door, causing Ariel to relax. Once she finished picking up her belongings, she composed herself and unlocked the door, only to be welcomed by a steaming hot cup of Earl Gray in Pocahontas' hands—Ariel's favorite.

"I didn't know what kind of tea you would have wanted so I bought you this popular choice. I prefer green myself, but it looks like you could use a caffeine boost" Her friend offered. The gesture was enough to bring a smile back on to Ariel's face, temporarily forcing away the negative feelings she held for herself – at least at that particular moment, she had people who cared about her, who wanted her to feel safe and comfortable in their presence. So she accepted the cup of tea and walked with Pocahontas back to the table where Mulan was seated, pensive and gazing out the window. At that particular moment, Ariel knew she wasn't alone in her thoughts and that her two companions were equally as disconnected from the world as herself.

"So, shall we begin with Plate Tectonics?" Ariel suggested to her friends with a smile on her face, welcoming anything more that will come her way.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_I very much apologize for the long delay in this update. This was partially due to writers block and partially due to a high workload and a lack of internet. Still, no excuse. So to make up for that, I tried to write a particularly long chapter focusing on a Disney Princess favorite: Ariel! _

_Truthfully, I hope the wait was worth the while and that you all enjoyed this chapter. I understand that a few of the reviews and PM's I have received have to do with from where Jane is from. She is Jane Porter from Tarzan, though now I can understand the confusion as one of the Banks' children in Mary Poppins is also named Jane, not to mention Wendy's daughter in Peter Pan. I will make a note of this in the first chapter as well to clarify, but I thought I would make a note here as well. _

_Please let me know if you have any requests for the focus of the next chapter, or any questions! =]_

_A special thank you to my ever loyal reviewers: __GorgyPorgyGregoria__ , __Demi Brackensick__ , __supersmashkingdomhearts1999__, __Ms. Emily Vega__ , __yeahIwentthere69__ and __Solaria daughter of Apollo__! Also a special thank you to the wonderful guests who have been stopping by the story and giving their love. Please visit their profiles and check up on their stories as well! If you enjoy mine, you certainly will enjoy theirs!_

_-Suzerenma_


	9. (9) Week Five, Monday: Megara

**Chapter 9 - Week Five: Monday – Defeat**

The seasons began to shift, bringing color to the trees and a cold bite to the air. It seemed the weather had taken a dramatic turn in just four days, leaving the young international women in an unexpected shiver. As Ariel walked into the room she noted that her classmates were bundled in heavy coats, undoubtedly unused to the change of temperature, all except Anastasia of course who understood too well how dramatic weather can be. Even Jane who was accustomed to English seasons preferred the nice warm weather that had graced her beloved city for the past few weeks.

Ariel was early when she walked in and immediately scanned for Pocahontas and Mulan. Once she spotted them chatting by the snack table, she grinned and trotted over while simultaneously pulling out a packet of paper from her satchel. "Look guys!" She exclaimed, waving the papers about. "I got an 88 on my marine geology lab!"

"I got a 90!" Mulan joyously cheered, earning her a big hug from her redheaded friend.

"Congratulations you two! I told you that all it takes is a little nudge of exploration to make science work." Pocahontas said. "You both did really well, and I'm sure you will only continue to improve through the term. Do you feel accomplished?" She asked.

Both girls nodded. "Definitely! I feel like I have a legitimate grasp on what makes marine geology so special." Mulan added.

"If you don't mind, can I borrow Mulan for a bit?" Ariel politely asked Pocahontas. "I'd like us to flaunt to the others some more about our awesome grades!"

Pocahontas just smiled and waved them on as she returned to her snacks. Ariel and Mulan wandered through the room looking for more people to share their news with. "How about Meg?" Mulan offered, pointing in the direction of the slender, sarcastic young woman already in animated conversation with Kida.

"I don't know...she scares me to be honest. I don't think she'll care either." Ariel's eyes shifted uncomfortably to the Grecian woman standing against a wall. Meg's head snapped toward the two young girls as she gave them a wide grin. "Oh boy, she heard us." Ariel instantly ducked her head back and motioned to Mulan that they should move elsewhere in the room. "Hey! How about Tiana? She's always so positive, I'm sure she'd like to know her roommate made us geniuses."

"Good idea, but I don't know where she is." Mulan scanned the room but still couldn't find Tiana. "She's probably running late again. She works two jobs...can you believe that? I hear some guy at work is giving her trouble too."

"I have heard that actually. Doesn't his name start with an N? It's a unique name, one I've never heard before, but I think he goes to the university too."

"Yes! I can't think of his name either but Eric's mentioned him before. Something about how his girlfriend went to Tiana's work and N kept flirting outrageously with her."

"Who? Tiana?" Came Meg, trying to stifle her own voice as she approached the two gossiping girls.

"No, no. Vanessa, Eric's girlfriend. Apparently the flirting was mutual so when Eric found out on Friday, he staked out the restaurant for a bit to get a better look." Mulan explained, not taking her eyes off Meg who had suddenly taken an interest in the conversation.

"Wow..." Ariel sighed, apparently unphased by 'scary' Meg's presence. "I can't believe his girlfriend would do that to him. What happened?"

"I don't know." Mulan answered. "On Saturday he texted me that he was still upset but he didn't say much else."

Ariel bit her bottom lip in thought, her heart racing already at the possibilities of what would happen between Eric and Vanessa. "Do you think they broke up? Or are going to?"

Meg decided that this would be a decent time to chime in. "Look ladies, I have no idea who Eric and Vanessa are but it sounds like you both have something for this guy. "

Ariel and Mulan blushed and looked down at each other, guilty as charged. "I guess...Is that crazy? I just met him last Thursday." Ariel admitted.

"Stranger things have happened. I wouldn't give my hopes up if I were you though. If what Tiana says about this N person being too lazy to even do his job, I doubt he will work too hard to impress this Vanessa anymore. My guess is he's a Class One Flirt, nothing more."

"You really think so? What if Vanessa's the type of person who gets into this situation a lot?" Mulan asked, still skeptical that this relationship was stable.

Meg chuckled and her patted Mulan's shoulder "Why don't we take a seat and discuss this predicament further." She suggested as they walked over to a couple of empty seats. Naturally the meeting would begin soon, at least once Tiana and a couple other stragglers arrived. Mulan looked at her mobile phone for the time just to make sure that they still had a few minutes.

"Ariel, I want you to know that if something should happen between Eric and Vanessa, I would hold no bad thoughts against you." Mulan stated after a few seconds of silence.

This was something unexpected. "What do you mean?" Ariel asked.

"Well, you know that I too had an attraction to Eric. I mean, how could anyone not?" Mulan paused as Meg shook her head at her. "Meg, before you say anything, he's handsome, charming and a genuinely friendly person. But think about it..." Mulan paused again, fidgeting with her phone some more. "We could never be together. We can be friends, but we cannot have a relationship."

"Why? Who says that just because your friend likes him, you can't be with him if he likes you too?" The blunt Grecian woman demanded.

"I understand, but we're friends." Ariel said before turning to Meg. "The reason Mulan can't have a relationship with him is because he's not Chinese and her parents are really strict about who she dates."

Meg just rolled her eyes. "Now that's just stupid..." Then her facial features softened. "But I guess that makes sense. I hear that happens with a lot of parents."

Mulan shrugged in defeat. "I have already resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to spend my life married to an uptight Chinese boy with no personality." The young woman brushed a stray strand of brown hair out of her face and looked over at her friends. "But in any case, Ariel I'm telling you now that you dating Eric would not jeopardize our friendship. Not at all. Even if he returned my attraction – which he doesn't – I would never lead him on or interfere with your own possibilities."

Ariel smiled. "You're a really good friend, Mulan. I doubt anything will happened between me and Eric. I'm probably not even on his radar at this point, there's no sense in getting ahead of myself."

"Ladies, I have to admit that I'm a little worried about your self depreciation." Meg warned, her violet eyes emoting concern at the negativity of her younger classmates.

"With all due respect Meg, you have a reputation among us for being cynical and in general a negative person." Came Mulan, who cautiously wanted to avoid any confrontation.

To her surprise, Meg opened her mouth to say something and began to emphasize a point with her index finger but then stopped. "I guess I deserved that." She concluded, and decidedly kept her opinions to herself for the remainder of the conversation.

"I personally don't want to date, but it would be nice to send home a photo of a good looking boy so that my parents could get off my case and stop trying to arrange blind dates." Mulan admitted.

"That sounds kind of annoying" Ariel replied.

Mulan giggled. "It is a little but I know they mean well. They just want me to be happy like any parents, it's just really difficult to tell them that I don't need a relationship or a marriage to be happy."

"See, I'm a hopeless romantic, but I'm sure you already knew this." Ariel grinned widely. "I don't need a relationship to be happy either, but it certainly would help at this point."

Mulan rested her head on Ariel's shoulder, still giggling about her ridiculous family blind dates and Ariel's statement on romance. "Then let's find you a boyfriend, and me a picture boy for my wallet. And Meg here can be our body guard. How does that sound?"

Just then, Tiana came running into the meeting room, clothes stained red by tomato sauce matching her face equally red with anger. She stopped running once she reached Pocahontas, who was still standing by the snack table. "I HATE Naveen!" Tiana yelled as she slumped against the wall.

"Naveen!" Ariel and Mulan exclaimed at once. So that was his name. Seeing Tiana's confused expressed elicited even more laughter out of the two girls who were so far gone in their now inside joke that no one could extract an explanation from them throughout the entire session.

"Naveen? Really? Oh he's definitely a Class One Flirt. Here I thought you were talking about someone named 'Enn.'" Meg threw her arms in the air in mock frustration but the smile on her face gave it away, causing another fit of laughter from Mulan and Ariel.

Jane took this opportunity to collect the attention of her group. "Well, now that we have had our daily dose of confusion, how about we begin for the day?" She announced, encouraging her students to reach for their seats in the usual circle.

"What's our discussion topic today, Jane?" Anastasia asked.

"I'm actually not too sure to be completely honest. I was thinking we could use this opportunity for a free discussion. What do you all think?"

Meg shrugged. "Works for me, though I'm not sure where we can begin."

Jane pondered for a moment, twisting her lip to one side of her face while she thought. "How about what you've done since you've been here? We're nearly half way done with the term and some of you – if not all of you – will be returning to your home countries once the term ends."

"I didn't think of that before..." Belle muttered quietly.

"Me neither..." Kida added.

"This doesn't need to be a sad discussion, ladies. You still have 11 more weeks until final examinations which means at least 22 more sessions here – I think, if we're not including holidays. Which reminds me, are the Americans returning home for Thanksgiving?" Jane asked Pocahontas and Tiana.

The American young women looked at each other and shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't really thought about it yet." Pocahontas admitted. Tiana nodded in agreement.

"If you guys stay, maybe we can host a Thanksgiving party for you so that you don't feel too far from home." Meg suggested, a warm smile growing on her face. "I'm sure you both miss your families, and we are fast approaching the holiday season."

"We have become a little family haven't we?" Jasmine realized. "I feel that I've become more comfortable in such a short time with this group than I have with my own family. I know I'm quiet, but I feel like I can open up much better here."

"I like the idea of throwing a party." Meg agreed. "Just let us know if you are going to be here or if you are going home."

Tiana looked in Meg's direction, somewhat taken aback by her sudden willingness to interact with the group. "I'll get to that tonight and I should be able to let you know tomorrow." She said, "And thank you for suggesting such a sweet idea."

"Then it's settled! We're going to have a party!" Meg exclaimed with more enthusiasm than she had shown since the term began.

* * *

"Hey Jasmine, I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch today? I was thinking we could brain storm some ideas for the party coming up." Meg asked once the session had ended.

Jasmine nodded. "Sure. I don't know about any ideas so far since I'm not even sure the party is going to happen yet but I definitely could use a distraction; I feel like my mind is going crazy."

Meg exhaled sharply. "Tell me about it. I've been kind of in my own world these days..."

"Where do you want to go? I've been meaning to try the bistro on the South Side. I think it's called Turquoise Buttons?"

"That sounds great! I hear they have a good rate on lunch specials." Meg agreed enthusiastically as she strapped up her shoulder bag and followed Jasmine out of the room.

"There are so many great restaurants in the area, I feel like I'm going to have to leave before I taste even a significant portion of them."

"Where do you and Aladdin go, if you don't mind my asking?" Meg asked cautiously.

Jasmine frowned. She didn't respond immediately. The two women exited the building and entered the vast courtyard before either of them said anything to each other. What did she say wrong? Immediately, Meg became on the defensive. She never did well in awkward silences and tried to think of something to say to break the ice some more. The only problem was thinking of what would be appropriate to say in such a circumstance. Undoubtedly, Meg felt that she had said something offensive without meaning to, but with all the stubbornness within her, she couldn't quite muster the ability to apologize.

Instead, Meg forced herself to admire the scenery around them. Until this point in time, she had never noticed how beautiful the campus was; with its sprawling gardens and small rolls of hills, it seemed more like a vacation spot than a university. What caught her eye most was how colorful everything was, even when the sky was steel gray. Meg loved vibrant colors even when her personality forbid her from sharing this fact. Even the gray sky was breathtaking for it provided a contrast to the otherwise chromatic overload she surrounded herself with. The falling leaves were her favorite; she loved how each leaf had its own signature color to mark its existence and as the leaves fell atop the green, grassy pasture ahead, she focused individually on how the foliage seemed to leave paint streaks across her peripheral vision. Truthfully, it was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen and it awakened her to her right-side companion whose face still pointed down to the cement below them in what seemed like sorrow.

Finally, Meg couldn't take the silence anymore and fought down her stubborn refusal to apologize. "I'm sorry." Meg offered. "Did I say something wrong?"

Jasmine just shook her head. "No, no it's not that. It's just that Aladdin and I seem to be drifting apart." She said sadly, all in one breath as though she had been bottling it in for years.

Meg stopped in her tracks and dropped her jaw in shock. "You have to be kidding! All I've heard from the group is how cute you two are together."

The young Jordanian woman just shrugged and watched the ground pass her as she continued walking.

As a particularly strong gust of wind jousted the two women as they walked to the bistro, Meg's favorite scarf unraveled itself from her neck and nearly escaped. In a panic, Meg waved her arms wildly in order to snatch it only for Jasmine to reflexively retrieve the flying purple fabric mid air and hand it back to Meg. Jasmine grinned proudly.

"I'm impressed." Meg said as she retied the scarf around her neck. "Really, that was a good save."

Meanwhile, Jasmine shuffled through her satchel and pulled out a matching scarf in turquoise. "I love pashminas." She stated as she wrapped her own scarf around her neck. "They're so elegant but they can be worn in any situation, casual or formal."

Meg grinned in surprise. "You have good taste."

Just then, Jasmine suddenly exclaimed "There it is!" pointing at the nearest building to them shrouded in trees. The sign was difficult to read but the two students could faintly make out 'Turquoise Buttons' in elegant cursive lettering.

"Two please" Jasmine politely requested once they made their way indoors. The hostess picked up a couple of menus and led them to a corner booth next to a window overlooking the neighboring garden. "Look over there" Jasmine whispered, pointing at a deer outside their window, lightly munching on a few tufts of grass.

Meg smiled softly. "He's so cute...I didn't even know we had deer on campus."

Jasmine looked up at her friend, returning her smile. "I didn't either, but now that I know, I'll be looking for them more often." She paused, her smile faltering a bit. "Hey Meg, I'm sorry about earlier."

"About what?" Meg asked.

"About getting emotional about my situation with Aladdin. It's gotten so complicated and so stressful that I don't feel we have a relationship anymore. Do you know what I mean?" Meg nodded. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Meg instantly paled. This was not a question she was expecting. "Oh boy...That's not an easy question to answer..."

Jasmine's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, now it's my turn to have said something...sensitive"

"It's OK, I mean, it is sensitive but I guess it's something I need to acknowledge anyway."

"Now it's my turn to be nosy. May I ask what you need to acknowledge?" Jasmine asked cautiously as the waiter came by and placed a bottle of water and two glasses in front of them. "Do you mind if I open this?" She asked as she picked up the bottle.

Meg waved her hand and shook her head. "No, I don't mind. To either of your questions." She sighed deeply. "Yes, I do have a boyfriend, but like you and Aladdin, I don't think we're going in the right direction."

"Want to tell me about it?" Jasmine offered, taking a sip of her water.

She did. So Meg took a deep breath and began. "His name is Admetus. We met when we were in our mid teens but I didn't pay much attention to him, even though he had seemingly fallen head over heels in love with me."

"Sounds romantic..." Jasmine stated.

"It wasn't and it was. Anyway, about two years ago, we finally decided to start dating. The only problem we realized early on was that we are both very stubborn and easily angered. At first, it wasn't so much of a problem as much as it was an annoyance; one we could live with and conquer with love, but an annoyance all the same."

"I think I see where this is going..." Jasmine added solemnly.

"You probably do. Anyway, for the past six months we've been fighting constantly. It was so bad that I cried myself to sleep almost every night." Meg stopped to take a drink of water. All of a sudden all the memories started to come back; the shouting matches, the low self-esteem, the unending sacrifices Meg had to make in order to make the relationship work. "The problem is that I'm selfish and I feel like I need him, even when it seems feels like I'm holding on to nothing."

"Wow...that sounds bad..."

"Well, it's both of us. I would come home from classes and work and all I would want to do is just vent. But he never wanted to hear any of it. The week before I left to come here, we got into our biggest fight yet. I was stressed after a particularly difficult day at work and when I started crying he basically yelled at me to 'suck it up."

"Meg that doesn't sound-" Jasmine began.

"And I realized that he was right. I shouldn't be bothering him with all this. He has enough on his plate, I shouldn't keep adding baggage to his life." Meg interrupted. "But I was too stubborn, too selfish and too damn needy all at the same time and I snapped."

"As you should ha-"

"And once I kicked him out the door, I realized immediately how much I missed him and how much I want us to work out."

"Meg-"

"And I need him, I really do need him." Tears started welling up in Meg's violet eyes as she recalled her most recent fight with Admetus.

"Meg. Really, you had every right to be angry." Jasmine finally was able to say.

"No, you don't get it! It's my fault!" Meg began to sob, each word becoming more of a croak than the last.

"No, this isn't your fault dear..." Jasmine said soothingly, moving herself over to the other side of the booth next to her friend. "The relationship isn't healthy. It's plain in how terrible you feel, even after five weeks of you being away in England."

"He called me last night to say that he was thinking about breaking it off...and I begged him to stay and reconsider, that I would be back in Greece soon enough and we can be together again." Meg continued to croak.

"What did he say?"

"He said he would think about it." The young Grecian woman spat, more anger in her voice than sadness at this point. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't see myself with anyone else now."

"Dear, no one said you have to be with anyone. That's actually why me and Aladdin aren't doing so well; we're forcing ourselves to hold onto something we don't have anymore, and it's not something I want either." Jasmine said as she stroked Meg's back.

"But I don't want to be alone...I don't think I can do it." Meg confessed, fear streaked across her tear-stained face.

"You can do it, and you won't be alone. You have your friends, and most importantly you have yourself."

Meg sniffed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you are one of the most fiercely independent women I know! Look at you! You're here on your own in a country that isn't your own, and you've been holding yourself together fairly well considering."

"I guess..."

"You guess nothing. Meg, you terrify a lot of the girls in our group because of your independence and your self-reliance." Jasmine smiled at her friend.

"I terrify them?" Meg tried to smile back.

"Well, maybe not in so many words but you certainly don't make yourself out to be weak or needy. You are far from those qualities."

"But I really love him, Jasmine..." Meg's eyes began to tear once again.

"I know you do, as I think I was beginning to love Aladdin. Yet sometimes love isn't always enough to sustain a relationship. You need more substance. Me and Aladdin need more than just our common heritage – which actually isn't completely true since we have nothing really in common – and you and Admetus...well, if you'll allow me to say it, he sounds like a real jerk."

"No, really he's n-" Meg began to protest.

"No, hear me out." Jasmine interrupted. "You have been giving your all to this relationship and he can't even give you decent respect. You tried to fight it, but he kept scaring you back into your shell, your safe place. So now you're just taking the brutality instead of fighting like you used to and because of that, he's forgotten what you mean to him."

Meg was silent. She stared at the table top in front of her and traced the wood patterns etched into it with her finger. She had never thought about it that way before. "So, you think I should just let it go?"

"If you'll allow me to be blunt, yes." Jasmine confessed. "I'll support you no matter what, but what you're feeling..." She gestured to Meg's distraught appearance "isn't healthy at all, and it's worrisome."

"You might be right..." Meg whispered. She then tilted her head upwards and took in a sharp breath. In the process, a few sobs escaped but she otherwise forced herself to keep composure.

"You don't have to hold in your emotions around me, you know." Jasmine offered, taking Meg's hand in her own. "I'm your friend, and I'm here for you. I won't let you go through this alone – hey, we can get through both our relationship complications together!"

Meg had to laugh. It was a laugh filled with bitterness but it was a laugh all the same. "I really appreciate you hearing me out, Jasmine. And I'm sorry I completely ruined our lunch, especially since it seems you have your own thoughts to get off your chest."

"Mine can wait. Right now, let's work with you."

"Thank you. I really mean it. You've been a great friend to me this afternoon...I'm just sorry we are only now getting to know each other."

"Don't worry about it. We still have plenty more hurdles ahead of us and it's good that at least now we're talking."

Meg took Jasmine completely by surprise by pulling her into a great bear hug. Meg was the last person Jasmine expected to enjoy hugs, but it was nice all the same.

"Sorry for the wait, can I take your order?" Came a chipper voice out of nowhere. The girls looked up in surprise to see a waiter standing at their table, notebook in hand, smile on face, ready to serve them.

Jasmine giggled as she walked back to her side of the booth. Meg was so flustered about Admetus that she had not had a chance to even look at the menu! "I'm sorry...I..." She started as she hurriedly flipped through the pages.

The waiter held out his hand to stop her. "No need miss, take your time. My name's Hercules, just call me over when you're ready."He said giving Meg a reassuring smile before zipping off to the next table.

Meg couldn't help but smile briefly once he had turned away, and Jasmine couldn't help but notice it, as brief of a smile as it was. "Meg, you're going to be alright. " She said. "I promise."

"I know." Meg replied. It would take a while, but she knew she would get through this. Even if it took all her strength and her willpower, she would force herself to get back on her feet. Jasmine was right; Meg was independent and self-reliant. Deep down, she knew this. As she scanned the menu, Meg couldn't help but think about how one person can completely tear another apart; how one person can destroy all remnants of self-respect and dignity in another. She knew what she had with Admetus was bad, no matter how much she loved him.

After settling on an American style grilled cheese sandwich, Meg gazed out the window and watched the deer who was still wandering the pasture, eating away at the grass. She watched as the leaves fell from their stems, knowing that new leaves would grace the same stems in a few months time. Even with this constant shedding and regrowth, the tree remained stable. Meg knew she was strong like this tree; she just didn't have her spring leaves to protect her from the biting cold. Still, she knew that in only a few months time she too will be basking in her own strength with sufficient leaves to protect her from the elements once again. With that thought, she smiled, took a deep breath and called the waiter to make her order.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_I am yet again so sorry to have taken about four months to update this! It's been absolutely hectic on my end and I had no idea what to write about for this chapter. Thank you everyone who voted on my poll! The results were tied between Meg and Anastasia, but because I had more vocal, PM and review requests for Meg, I figured that I would focus on her for this chapter and Anastasia the next._

_Now, I know it says in this chapter that there will be at least 22 more sessions. Ideally, that will be the minimal amount of chapters that I will write after this one but there are no guarantees that I can carry it that far. We'll see how it goes and I'll certainly try to keep things interesting. _

_Here's the plan: as some of you have already noticed, I started writing a new story titled Egyptian Sunsets dedicated to my upcoming trip to Egypt this summer. Since the story will be somewhat based off of my experiences in Egypt, the bulk of the writing will be done while I am there and once I return. I __will write a couple 'preparation' chapters until my departure to keep my readers interested in the story, but otherwise the allotted time in between now and when I leave for Egypt will keep me focused on THIS story (You Will Learn From Each Other). Hopefully, in a perfect world, each character will have a feature chapter by the time I leave – which means by the time I really begin to focus on Egyptian Sunsets – in which case, this story will be on a brief hiatus until I have completed Egypt. I hope that makes sense...I may put this information into my profile as well in case there is too much confusion. _

_To answer any questions about this particular chapter, I chose Admetus to be Meg's troubled boyfriend for Megara's back story in Hercules somewhat alludes to the story of Alcestis who according to Greek mythology, sacrificed herself for her husband, Admetus. _

_Now, another per-warning...the story is kind of taking its own twists and turns the more it's developed. So I know some will be disappointed about the state of the relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin. Now, couples may stop being canon. Some will remain canon, but others may not depending on how thins go and things are going to inevitably get a little messy as things in the real world naturally do. I'd like to know your thoughts; As usual, reviews are a very welcome reminder as to how this story is going, and I am always open to suggestions, comments questions, etc! Feel free to PM me about anything =]_

_A special thank you to my ever loyal reviewers: __GorgyPorgyGregoria__ , __Demi Brackensick__ , __supersmashkingdomhearts1999__, __Ms. Emily Vega__, __sssweetie__ , __yeahIwentthere69__, __puddingtalk__ and __Solaria daughter of Apollo__! Also a special thank you to the wonderful guests who have been stopping by the story and giving their love. Please visit their profiles and check up on their stories as well! If you enjoy mine, you certainly will enjoy theirs!_

_Much love,_

_-Suzerenma_


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